Blowing in The Wind.........

Documentary

2011-07-17T01:49:00.004+05:30

This is the documentary for the fulfillment of the Assignment for Online Media.

Chovar, Holiday near Home..

2011-07-16T22:46:00.008+05:30

The small picturesque village of Chovar is on the hill, 7 KM Southwest of Kathmandu. The small hill is located at such a location from where a panoramic view of whole Kathmandu Valley can be attained. From the hush and rush of the centre city, Chovar can be of an ideal location for just a break from the day to day busy schedule or a good option for a night-out, especially for the city dwellers.

Chovar is located at Kirtipur municipality, a municipality rich is its own culture, way of life with having a splendid history. History says that when Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked the Kathmandu Valley, he started from Kirtipur and it was not a piece of cake to siege the town.

Chovar, a place for the peace seekers, where you will surely have a good break from all your hectic way of life. The village has a superb panoramic view of whole Valley with an astonishing 160 degree view of mountains line-up.

Not only Chovar does have its rich natural beauty but it also contains a rich cultural scrutiny points. At the top of the hill lies Adinath Temple, one of the Machindranath (Red) of Kathmandu. Both the Hindu and Buddhist devotee worship the god, Hindus as an incarnation of Lord Bishnu and Buddhist as a Buddha.

Many buses come here from the Kathmandu City bus stand (45 minutes). The bus stops at the bottom of the hill called Chovar gate and from there you have to walk an organized stone-steps for about 30 minutes to reach the top of the hill. It is more comfortable to get here by taxi or private vehicle as such the vehicle can reach up to the top of the hill.Many tourist visit Chovar as a detour from Kirtipur to Patan either by hiking or cycling.

At the bottom of the hill lies the oldest Ganesha of all, Jal- Binayak, one of the four Ganeshas of the valley. Near the Ganesha’s temple lies another wonderful spot, Chovar gorge, the only water way out of the Kathmandu valley. Very recently near the Ganesha temple and Chovar George, the Park has been established which has been a perfect location for recreational activities like organizing picnics programs and many more.

Chovar with all these wonderful places to visit can be one of the important tourist spot near the capital city.

Paintbrush is more effective than bricks and tires we Burn

2011-05-29T13:26:00.003+05:30

Nepal-Bharat Library organized the 10th edition of Tavern Tales featuring one of the emerging contemporary artists Sujan Chitrakar about his recent art exhibition “let’s talk about ART baby” held in Siddhartha Art gallery, Kathmandu. The discussion was between Chitrakar and Kanchan Burathoki who is the Arts editor of Republica Newspaper. Later, there were number of questions from the audience as well.
Sujan chitrakar portrays him as a concept based artist not a style based one. That can be easily exposed in his recent art exhibition where his creations are based on retrospective analysis with a lot of photographic effects. His main goal with this art exhibition is to make people talk about the art. He wants to increase the level of art appreciation rather than selling them. “I have requested my audience to take the pictures of my art-work and they can post it in their blogs, facebook or simply make a poster of it. By doing so, they just don’t have to buy my painting but they can appreciate my work.” Said Chitrakar.

No wings to fly….

2011-05-29T13:24:00.001+05:30

A person cannot fly; it’s a reality simply because we have no wings. But, it’s quite the opposite with Chinese Acrobatics performers. Not only they can hop meters of height but they can carry a man upside down and do a lot of lopsided stuffs. Maybe that is why Chinese acrobatics ranks among the best in the world with their thousands years long history, rich repertory and distinctive artistic characteristics. When you watch a Chinese acrobatics show, you are strongly impacted both mentally and physically.

On the auspicious occasion of Chinese Spring festival and a Chinese New Year, The two-day Chinese Acrobatic Show was performed by The General Troupe of Acrobatics and Folk Arts of Zhejiang Province, China at Nepal Academy Hall. The event was organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and World Cultural Net (WCN). The Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari along with the Hon. Ambassador of PR China Qiu Guo Hong were the chief guests of the event inaugurating the extravaganza. The Chinese Ambassador expressed his token of love to the Nepal and said, “I am delighted to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Nepal with such an outstanding event.” The deputy prime minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari expressed his gratitude to the People’s Republic of China on promoting such a friendly exchange program with wishing all the People of China a Happy New Year on behalf of all the Nepalese. He said “China-Nepal relationship has always been in a prosperous form and we have a strong responsibility to preserve this precious relationship.”
The total of 33 members acrobatics show was performed in an approximate time span of 30 minutes. There were 13 of the acrobatic feats making audiences thrilled in every moment of those minutes. Among these shows, 7 were the award winning performance not only in China but in different places of the world in various competitions. Before the performance of each show/act, brief visual information of about the act was given. Buddha Light in Putuo Temple was the first contortionist act performed by 14 of the members which was a blend of lighting with appropriate clothing that added beauty of the performance increasing visual effects.

Among the feats, Butterfly Lovers which was an aerial show made the audience scream in surprise and amazement. Among the audience was Hari Bansha Acharya, renowned Nepali actor who couldn’t control screaming and was delighted to witness such a thrilling act.
There was Clown Show a Bowl Bouncing act, fighting in Kitchen hand skill which along with the thrill gave audience a moment of laughter as well. Bright Pearl in West Lake was yet another extraordinary act in which performer showed his unbelievable talent of spinning plates so delicately that they simply looked like gently waving flowers.
There were shouts from all the corners of the audience and people were jumping and screaming to appreciate and observe such charismatic performance that everyone in the audience will remember all their life.

127 Hours:

2011-05-29T13:23:00.001+05:30

What would you do if you are a trekker and rock pinned your arm in a canyon and help is nowhere to be found? Danny Boyle yet again has been successful in presenting 90 minutes of absolute entertainment, emotion, uplifting, exasperation and altogether breath-taking moments. The film tells us the real life happening of Aron Ralston, who subsequently wrote a book, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” about his real-life happening in 2003 in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah.
It was nothing but a regular day for Ralston (Franco) in his Home away from home Canyon, he would Bike Ride for hours, explore caves and canyons and take pictures of nature’s awesome beauty. He had the map, he knew the way and more importantly high level of experience was with him. But, the serious mistake he committed was he didn’t tell anyone where he was going taking too lightly the perilous fascination he was to perform.
James Franco has performed exceptionally well job as Ralston. He is expressive, endeavors whole over the movie for every option possible and you will not get bored with 70 minutes of his performance carrying out this incredible movie. But Danny Boyle utilizes more than Franco’s exceptional performance. The cinematography of Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak provides the audience with the variety of senses that cinema can possibly provide. A.R. Rehman has again come up with his set standard of magnificent music in the movie.

The movie has till now registered 6 Oscars, another 4 wins and 55 nominations. This is undoubtedly Boyle’s finest dramatic presentation. The film touches your emotions not only joy or sorrow but an appreciation for the life itself.

Chiya Pasale

2011-05-29T13:21:00.001+05:30

We even took his mobile number with a promise that we will be back again someday to drink at least a cup of tea. This is a story of an inspiring hotel owner Gorkha Bahadur Rumba Tamang, a small tea-shop owner in a place called 4 Bhandar at the end of the Chaimale VDC. It has not been long that he has been running this tea shop. “It’s been just a 17 months I am doing this job and I hope to continue and extend it even.” Rumba says. 4 Bhandar is located at the top of the hill with a panoramic view of hills and small glimpse of Kathmandu Valley.
Before establishing the Tea shop Rumba was abroad for work. He says “I have been to Qatar for 6 years, where I worked as a labor in construction side.” Now he has no intensions of going abroad rather he is planning to establish a very first lodge in Chaimale. “It’s far better to be a Tea shop owner than a labor in abroad. We have money and opportunity all around us but it’s on us that we have to grasp it.” Says Rumba with a splendid smile. He has been arranging for capital to set up a lodge in few months and in his absence his wife Sita Rumba takes good care of shop as well as 8 years old and 2 years old children.
Rumba has studied only up to class 8 due to his family problems and he had to find a work and earn for his family. During that time he had worked in a Garment factory in Baudha and even as a labor for some years. Unfolding that tough time we could see the snuffle in his eyes. “Life for me was very harsh but I am very proud to say I never gave up, I worked as a labor, helper, and conductor and now here I am with my family and my occupation”. Rumba has also started very small animal farming and established a STD-ISTD telephone service in the corner of his Tea shop. He also handles the parachute Jumping from 4 Bhandar. We were amazed to know that he can speak English as well. “I learn English by watching movies”, this was what he said when we asked how he was able to speak English.
After witnessing Gorkha Rumba’s life it’s a lesson for us that never give up attitude is what life is all about. If you can fight the astringent obstacles your life gives you then nothing is impossible to achieve.

Significance of Research in Media

2009-09-13T22:29:00.000+05:30

Media is a practical subject. Media can’t be a good subject without a practical activities and techniques. When the practical comes obviously the research is the major subject in it. To be clearer about the term research it is a practical and scientific subject to have knowledge about something. The knowledge in research is to investigate over some subject with scientifically ground. To be more clear research is a science to acknowledge something. Research is a objective approach to the subject matter as it is measured through the accuracy.

Media and Research always have to go on a same lane. Without a help of a sound research it is not possible to generate a good media product. Almost all the media product are totally based on research either it’s a television News or an Advertising. Media research majorly investigates with a survey and a result from the viewers along with the feedback from media professional. The media research as per the definition of scholars can be divided into two Sub Heads:

· People or Behavior oriented Research

Under this Research sub head the research is done with the main focus to the people. The follower, listener, viewers are the individuals who are focused by this type of the research.

· Message or Artifact oriented Research

Under this sub head the research is based on message. The research generates the message or influences through the message.

Media Research focuses on the experience of the individual or group for whom the product is design. Whether it's a game or a portal, it specializes in evaluating the experience of the user from the standpoint of the viability of the media experience for marketing and investment purposes. Every media product -- whether it's a television program or an interactive website or a movie -- must speak to the experience of the individual that chooses to participate in it. Only if the content of the experience addresses the needs of the user will it draw an audience.

All media researches are psychologically based, having to do with the values, beliefs, opinions and personalities of the individuals who choose to participate. These methods of in-depth analysis provide the foundation for making decisions that are crucial to production, development, marketing, branding and investment. The knowledge-based research system enables to provide a methodical assessment of any project as designed to engage an audience whether it be a general audience of consumers or a more targeted audience of professionals. The methods are applicable to business-to-consumer or business-to-business issues. In the age of convergence, the method of delivery film, television, CD, DVD or Web-- becomes less relevant than the content of the experience for the user, yet each medium has its own demands.

Media in major have these Sub Heads:

· Print Media

· Electronic Media

· Advertising and Public Relation

Print Media:

Print Media is one of the widely influence area by the research. The role of research in Print Media is very strong. Readership, circulation, management, readability are the areas where Research is vastly done and very important as well.

Electronic Media:

Electronic Media have the surveys in news; interviews audience likes and dislikes analyses of different types of programming, demographic and lifestyle information about the audience.

Internet:

Internet is another fast grown Media where research plays a vital role as well. This is where the two way communication of Media is best seen. Over the internet ht comments and on and on discussion could be done which comprises with research of the research.

Advertising and Public Relations:

Advertising is another area where Research is vastly used. It is done as Advertising and PR is totally a survey and research oriented subject. It has a lot of campaigns, direct relation with the audience, social relation stronger than any other.

Therefore, the significance of research in Media is of great deal. As being a practical subject with up close and personnel dealing with the public Research is must for any type of Media.

Magazines Work

2009-06-22T00:05:00.000+05:30

This is an assignment of advertising for the 2^nd year 4^th semester. The total of advertisement is collected from 3 magazines. They are:

· Wave

· Nari

· Kamana

As per the assignment part the advertisement analysis from three major perspectives is done. They are

· Marxist

· Feminist

· Hinduism

The content of the all three magazine’s advertisement are as follows:

Wave Magazine:

1. Advertisement Name: Yamaha FZ

Gender Used: Male

Introductory Statement: Bike of the Year

2. Advertisement Name: Honda Stunner

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Absolute Sensation

3. Advertisement Name: Mero Mobile

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Shubha Ratri Dekhi Subha Prabhat Samma

4. Advertisement Name: Together The Fashion Store

Gender Used: 2 male & 2 Female

Introductory Statement: Casual & Beyond

5. Advertisement Name: Dabur Vatika Shampoo

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Active Natural Ingredients, 25% extra

6. Advertisement Name: Campus France

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Wasn’t built in one day. Start now.

7. Advertisement Name: Ace Paragon Education centre

Gender Used: Female

Introductory Statement: Its Choice Not Chance That Determines Your Destiny.

8. Advertisement Name: Orbit Education Centre

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: The Power to Know

9. Advertisement Name: Liril Soap

Gender Used: Female

Introductory Statement: Refreshingly Yours

10. Advertisement Name: THT Live 27221

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Ringtones

11. Advertisement Name: UFO

Gender Used: 1 Male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Express Your Attitude

12. Advertisement Name: Fair & Lovely

Gender Used: 1 female

Introductory Statement: More than Just Fairness

13. Advertisement Name: Sunsilk Shampoo

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Win the Fight against Hairfall

14. Advertisement Name: Close Up Toothpaste

Gender Used: 1 Male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: New Active Clean Mouthwash

15. Advertisement Name: Panther Condoms

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: For Pleasure and Protection

16. Advertisement Name: Gossip

Gender Used: 1 Girl

Introductory Statement: Get Them Girls

17. Advertisement Name: Peter England

Gender Used: 1 Male 1 female

Introductory Statement: Festive Impressions

18. Advertisement Name: Informatics

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Bachelor Degree Offer

19. Advertisement Name: Fastrack

Gender Used: 1 Male

Introductory Statement: Move on

20. Advertisement Name: Fair & Lovely

Gender Used: 1 female

Introductory Statement: More than Just Fairness

21. Advertisement Name: Dabur Vatika Shampoo

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Active Natural Ingredients, 25% extra

22. Advertisement Name: Big FM

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Sunnus ani Sunaunoos

Nari Magazines:

23. Advertisement Name: Wai Wai Noodles

Gender Used: 2 Male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Aja Feri Wai Wai

24. Advertisement Name: No Marks

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Double role of skin protection and shining

25. Advertisement Name: Mayos Noodles

Gender Used: 1 Male

Introductory Statement: Prizes rekha Ko Khel.

26. Advertisement Name: Sewa Detergent Powder

Gender Used: 2 Female

Introductory Statement: Aba Luga Matra Haina Afno Vagya Chamkaunoos

27. Advertisement Name: Mystique collection

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Better quality in Reasonable price

28. Advertisement Name: Emerald Academy

Gender Used: 6 female

Introductory Statement: Childhood Education courses

29. Advertisement Name: Bargrikit

Sub Advertisement: Party Palace

Sub Advertisement: Beautician training

Sub Advertisement: Cooking training

Sub Advertisement: Hotel Training

Sub Advertisement: Cooking Training

Sub Advertisement: Nari Magazine Advertisement

Sub Advertisement: Teeth Maintenance Centre

30. Advertisement Name: Nepal

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Every Sunday

31. Advertisement Name: Siam Barber Shop

Gender Used: 3 Female 2 Male

Introductory Statement: 3 services under 1 roof

32. Advertisement Name: Lux Soap

Gender Used: 1 female

Introductory Statement: Orchid, Exotic Petal and Jojoba Oil.

33. Advertisement Name: Anna Lifan Scooter

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: My Identity My Bike

34. Advertisement Name: Dabur Lal Toothpaste

Gender Used: 1 male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Strong teeth with Freshness

35. Advertisement Name: Vatika Soap

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Swachha Twocha

36. Advertisement Name: Aahoo Scooter

Gender Used: 1 Male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Superior Riding Technology

37. Advertisement Name: Kantipur Saving & credit co-operative

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Swarai Ana Dhukka

38. Advertisement Name: Magic Chappal

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Sayathari Paila Eutai Chal

39. Advertisement Name: Dabur Anmol Shampoo

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Silky Black Long Hair

40. Advertisement Name: Nivea baby Protection

Gender Used: Child

Introductory Statement: Now in Nepal

41. Advertisement Name: Sleek Kitchen

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Now in Nepal

42. Advertisement Name: Family Oil

Gender Used: 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Pariwarko lagi Tori ko Tail Family nai ho.

Kamana Magazine:

43. Advertisement Name: Vatika Shampoo

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement:

44. Advertisement Name: Puja Soap

Gender Used: 1 Male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Dherai Feez basna Tikau.

45. Advertisement Name: Oranjeboom

Gender Used: 1 male & 1 Female

Introductory Statement: Life ma Boom Boom Cha

46. Advertisement Name: Dr. Muscle Kitchan Cleaning

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: Science of Tough Cleaning

47. Advertisement Name: Shaktiman Cement

Gender Used: 1 Male

Introductory Statement: Bastabik Nepali Cement

48. Advertisement Name: Lion Washing Soap

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: New Improved

49. Advertisement Name: E Net Pvt. Ltd.

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: SMS & Win 50 hrs. Internet

50. Advertisement Name: Clinic All Clear Antidandruff Oil

Gender Used: 1 male

Introductory Statement: With Vitamin A, B& E.

51. Advertisement Name: Neel David Saloon

Gender Used: 2 Male & 2 Female

Introductory Statement: 20% Discount for Gents or female.

52. Advertisement Name: Suchana Tatha Sanchar Mantralaya

Gender Used: None

Introductory Statement: ………

Advertisement from Marxist Perspective

Marxism is the ideology put forwarded by Karl Marx in mid 19^th Century through his Communist Manifesto which divided the whole society into two major classes namely Proletariat and Bourgeoisie on the economic basis. Karl Marx by Bourgeoisie means that group of people in the society who own means of production like Industry and factories.

Ownership over means of production is not only the determined factor but also the Consumerism that determine your social class. Karl Marx heavily emphasized on industry, but nowadays somebody be uplifted to higher class by consuming the product also.

Thus Consumerism is triumphant in contemporary society. That means, in today’s society consumption of common goods has become one of the strong factors to create relationship between people. If two stranger happen to be die-hard fan of a same celebrity than there is high possibility that they will become intimate friends. We even feel in our own life that two students eating in the same restaurant regularly seems to flourish friendship fast and easy.

J. Williamson also argues that it is advertisement that is behind consumerism. For example in Nepal before 20 years when we think about breakfast than we use to think about Sel roti, Achar but nowadays noodles has become the breakfast, lunch and Tiffin for us. Advertising is portraying the product in such a manner that people begin to perceive it as a need and they start consuming it in one way or other. Similary“Dhido and Shisno”, one of the Nepalese food variety, was eaten only in village areas but nowadays advertising has made this variety of Nepalese food as one of the important and famous menu of the restaurant and hotels such people are ready to pay high amount to eat it or consume it.

Advertising has become an ideology because advertising is creating certain world view. In one way or other ad are modifying our behavior and we are consuming the goods that we may not have consumed if there were no advertising.

Analysis of Magazines Advertisement from Marxist Perspective:

Marxism was propounded by Karl Marx to end the existing social order of domination by ruling class i.e. Bourgeoisie, so any ads that doesn’t represents the ruling class and try to undermine the lower class comes under strong criticism. Similarly the ads that promote consumerism is highly unconsidered unacceptable from Marxism point of view. Talking about the wave magazines the first advertisement of Yamaha FZ and second advertisement of Stunner Bike are targeted for high class audience. The buying of those kinds of products requires a high amount of money and so targeted to the particular kind of audience. This kind of advertisement creates a difference between the people and creates the class difference. Talking about the clothing UFO, Gossip and Peter England are quiet expensive clothing stores. In overall analyzation of the Whole Wave magazine and its advertisement contents, it is targeted to the youths of high class family. The advertisement in the magazine clearly shows that. Talking about the Nari Magazine the Mayos advertisement is dragging the low class audience but in a hope to get a high class life. It is showing the chance of getting car or bikes while consuming the Mayos noodles. This clearly shows how the advertising is creating a different ideology in humans that there is easy chance to be rich while eating noodles. Similarly, in the Ahoo Scoter and Anna Lifan Scooter advertisement the direct price of the bike in installment has been shown. This theory gives audience hope that they can also try out the high life with just a little cost. These advertisements show that Nari magazines are targeted to the middle class family. The kamana magazine has not contained such a particular advertisement which directly can divide the audience. It has more taken the general and simple household advertisements. But as per the Marxism the advertising is somehow bending the attitude of the people and making attracted towards its products.

Advertisement From Feminist Perspective:

Feminism is the world view that analyses the world from the stand point of females. Feminism mainly focuses on how to change the existing male-dominated social order. It can be both negative and positive as well. Positive in a sense that the advertisement can show that women can also do everything that man is doing. This kind of advertising creates discourse in the women that they are equal to the men. The equality thing makes women buy the advertised products. The negative perspective can be the advertisement can bring the women more vulgarly to attract the negative sex. The extra body show, adding more nudity in advertisement has been shown that negatively stroke women making them the commodity.

Analysis of Magazines Ads from Feminism Perspective:

Women are always the hot topic in Advertisement. The model in advertisement to be more particular the female model can be responsible for the sell of or success of many advertisements. There is advertisement with the female commodity that has been raised to the higher level of criticism. Still the Nepali society is quiet conservative and in such a criteria Females are to be handled correctly by Advertising agencies. Talking about my collection of advertisement the advertisement of Aahoo Scoter, Ana Lifan Scoter, Emerald Academy, Ace Paragon where women are portrayed as somebody who is educated, learned, skilled, intelligent and capable of handling their life on their own way. This is highly appreciative initiation from Feminist perspective. Likewise the advertisement of Orangeboom, UFO, Wai Wai, Together Clothing, and Close-up has shown women and Men equal doing the same thing. This is also a positive part of advertising which tries to make an emphasis that both are equal.

Sometime female characters are used in unethical manner which is unacceptable from Feminist perspective. For example in Vatika, Lux, fair and lovely, together, Liril, semi nude body of female are scattered from one end to others. The sole motive is to attract the customer by using the female body as a sex symbol which is considered highly unacceptable from feminist perspectives.

Over all these advertisement shows that only the number of female character doesn’t determine whether they are criticized or appreciated from feminism perspective but what count is how they are portrayed. Most often ad giving the theme of breaking the stereotypes is highly encouraged by Feminist.

Advertisement From Hinduism Perspective:

Hinduism is such the philosophy which inspire it’s follower to satisfy with whatever they need rather whatever they want. It argues need is limited but there is no boundary for the want. Hinduism takes need as primary aspect of life and want as the secondary one. So anything that arouses want cannot be taken positively by Hinduism. Hinduism at the farthest can adore the awareness ad but cannot stand along with the promotional ads of certain brand and product.

Advertisement being the backbone of consumerism cannot be accepted by Hinduism gracefully.

Analysis of Magazines Ads from Hinduism Perspective:

The advertisement of Orangeboom is totally against the Hindu Perspective. As the relation of Two Sexes in Hindu religion can’t be shown close until marriage. But that sort of advertisement can really make a negative impact.

In the Advertisement of products like Liril Hindu perspective is totally against that sort of advertisement. Hinduism never welcomes the nudity of a girl and is not acceptable thing in society as well.

According to Hindu religion, Gold and silvers are regarded to be a precious and religious thing. The advertising of Sewa Detergent and Kantipur Credit and Transfer has Cleary mentioned about the above things which is quiet inside the Hinduism.

Analyzing various newspapers reporting of the same story.

2009-06-21T23:33:00.002+05:30

As per the Journalism assignment of 2^nd year 2^nd semester, a brief analysis over a same News story from different newspaper has to be done. I have taken the very recent Nepali congress voting result of electing of the leader of parliament from its party. There was a voting between Deuba and Poudel in the second round of voting late in the evening, after no candidate got clear majority in the first round. Poudel got 61 votes while Deuba had the support of 48 lawmakers.

This news story is quiet not that in depth news story to be covered from Newspapers. Analyzing the News story we can see from the headline itself that The Rising Nepal, The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post contains quiet a same Headlines. But in Republica more imphasis in the losing party has also been shown. This shows the headline of Republica has created somewhat more sensation in Public by mentioning not the direct result of one side but both the sides. Similarly in Republica apart from The Rising Nepal, The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post the overall detail reporting has been done. We can see just a little information in other newspaper than the detail overall procedures in Republica. This shows that Republica is getting ahead of the old bully in Newspaper market. It can also be that the concept of new thing is good has been emphasized by Republica in audiences.

The Himalayan Times:

Paudel elected NC leader in House

Prakash Acharya

KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress on Saturday elected Ram Chandra Paudel as its Parliamentary Party leader, 14 months after the formation of the Constituent Assembly. Paudel defeated his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba by 13 votes to become the leader of the party in the Parliament. Paudel got 61 votes while Deuba had the support of 48 lawmakers. Five NC lawmakers abstained from voting.
Deuba and Poudel contested in the second round of voting late in the evening, after no candidate got clear majority in the first round.
“I have not taken this result as victory or loss. It is just division of work. I’ll move ahead taking Deuba and his supporters into confidence,” said Paudel after being elected NCPP chief. Interestingly, Deuba was not present when the election result was announced.
Party president Girija Prasad Koirala abstained from voting. A source
close to Koirala claimed that the octogenarian leader did not participate in the poll process because he did not want to take sides. He wants to act as a patron and keep the party unity intact, he added.
Along with Koirala, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Dr Shashank Koirala, Baladev Sharma Majgaiya and Nilambar Acharya also did not cast votes. Dr Mahat and Dr Koirala are currently in the US, while Sharma is in India. Acharya, a nominated CA member of the party, refused to take part in the election process.
In the first round, Deuba and Poudel got 45 and 39 votes respectively, while KB Gurung and Suprabha Ghimire received 12 votes each. One vote was declared invalid.
According to the party statute, a candidate needs to get 51 per cent of the votes to win the election in the first round. However, a simple majority would be enough in the second round. The leader can later appoint his deputy, according to the statute.
Earlier, 10 out of 17 members in the 19-member working committee of the PP were elected unopposed on the basis of inclusiveness. Jagadish Narsingh KC, Nabindra Raj Joshi, Badshah Kurmi, Ramesh Lekhak, Amrit Lal Rajbanshi, Kabita Sardar Bantar, Ajaya Kumar Chaurasia, Kiran Yadav, Purushotam Basnet and Arjun Prasad Joshi were unanimously elected as members in the working committee. Pramila Rai, Dhyan Govinda Ranjit, Dhana Raj Gurung, Ishwori Neupane, Kalyani Rijal, Lila Subba and Sita Gurung were elected in the PP working committee thro-ugh majority votes.
While Deuba wanted to hold the second round of polls tomorrow, Poudel was adamant on holding it today. Though party president Koirala remained neutral, his daughter Sujata openly lobbied for Deuba. Deuba also found allies in vice-president Prakash Man Singh and general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi. Poudel got support from acting president Sushil Koirala.
NC activists believe PP election points to leadership transfer to younger lot.

The Rising Nepal:

Paudel elected NC PP leader

By A Staff Reporter

Ram Chandra Paudel won the coveted seat of Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader at a keenly contested vote Saturday.

Poudel got 61 votes as against 48 votes of his rival candidate, Sher Bahadur Deuba.

NC lawmakers voted for the second round of election to choose their leader between the top two candidates; Deuba and Paudel, as nobody garnered a clear majority during the first round.

NC statute requires at least 50 per cent to win the post of the parliamentary party leader.

Earlier, Sher Bahadur Deuba got 45, Ram Chandra Paudel - 39, while Suprabha Ghimire and Kul Bahadur Gurung got 12 votes each. At least 58 votes were needed to be elected as the NC PP leader.

Similarly, nine of the total 17 Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party (PP) working committee members have been elected unopposed.

Those elected unopposed include Kiran Yadav (woman), Amrit Lal Rajbanshi and Ajaya Chaurasiya from Madhesi quota and Kabita Sardar from Dalit quota. Likewise, Jagadish Nara Singh KC and Purushottam Basnet have also been elected unopposed.

There is a provision to elect one member each from various five development regions as members of the PP working Committee. Arjun Joshi (Western Development Region), Ramesh Lekhak (Far Western Development Region), Badshah Kurmi (Mid-western Development Region) and Nabindra Raj Joshi (Central Development Region) are also among those elected unopposed.

The Kathmandu Post:

Poudel elected Nepali Congress PP leader

Kantipur Report

KATHMANDU, June 20 - The Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers have elected party Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel as their Parliamentary Party (PP) leader on Saturday.

In the second phase of election held this evening, Poudel defeated senior leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Poudel garnered 61 votes out of 109 while Deuba could receive only support from 46 lawmakers.

The voting had started at 8:30 pm.

The election procedure entered the second phase as none of the four candidates – Poudel, Deuba, Kul Bahadur Gurung and Suprabha Ghimire—succeeded garnering a clear majority in the polls earlier today.

In the first phase of election, Deuba garnered 45 votes, and Poudel followed him collecting just 39 votes.

Gurung and Ghimire gathered 12 votes each, in the election held from 2 to 4 pm.

According to the NC PP statute, the candidates must garner more than 51 per cent votes. As no candidate received 58 votes from among 109 lawmakers, the election entered the second phase.

The votes of the 24 lawmakers who voted in favour of Gurung and Ghimire, now, have a decisive role in picking up the PP leader.

Among the total 114 voters, NC President Girija Prasad Koirala and Nilamber Acharya did not take part in the voting, while Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Dr Shashanka Koirala and Baladev Majgainya are abroad.

Meanwhile, 10 leaders have been elected unopposed to the 17-member committee of the PP.

Kiran Yadav has been elected in the quota of Madheshi female and Amrit Lal Rajbansi and Ajay Chourasiya in Madheshi male, in the Parliamentary Party (PP) election today.

Likewise, in the quota of Dalit Kabita Sardar has been elected unopposed and Jagadish Narasingh KC and Purshottam Basnet in others quota.

Ramesh Lekhak has won the election from Far-Western Development Region, Badshah Kurmi from Mid-Western, Arjun Joshi from Western and Nabindra Raj Joshi from Central.

The NC has amended its statute this time around with the provision of leader picking the deputy leader.

This is the first time the party held a proper election for a PP leader. Since the 1991 general election, Party Chairman Girija Prasad Koirala had been the uncontested leader, except for a brief period when Krishna Prasad Bhattarai assumed the post.

REPUBLICA

Poudel Crushes Deuba

KATHMANDU, June 20: Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers have elected senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel as their parliamentary party (PP) leader during an election, Saturday.

10 PP members elected unopposed, 7 others through election

While Poudel got 61 votes his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba garnered just 48 out of the total 109 votes cast in the second round of the PP election held late evening. Talking to media persons after the election result was out, Poudel said that a democratic exercise in the party had become successful after the election. “No one has lost or won as this is an election to take responsibility of the party,” said Poudel.

He thanked all those supporting him and those taking part in the voting process. “This will help to further consolidate unity in the party as parliamentary party leader is selected through a democratic process,” he further said.

Asked if how he would tackle the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Poudel said he would hold dialogue with them to address their demands.

Deuba was not to be seen at the election venue when the election results were out.

This election holds special significance for the NC because it is, among other things, about who will lead the party after Girija Prasad Koirala (GPK). According to the party statute, Koirala cannot contest the post of party president at the next general convention and there is no credible candidate from the Koirala family to step into his shoes.

The PP leadership election outcome, therefore, indicates which faction within the NC will control the party in future.

First round vote

NC senior leader and former prime minister Deuba and party vice-president Poudel had faced off for the top post in the NC´s PP in a second round vote after none of the four candidates -- Deuba, Paudel, Suprabha Ghimire and KB Gurung -- garnered the required number of votes in the first round of election held earlier Saturday. While Deuba got 45 votes his nearest rival Poudel secured 39 out of the total of 109 votes cast by NC parliamentarians during polling held at their PP office at Singha Durbar. Two other candidates in the fray -- Gurung and Ghimire -- got 12 votes each.

One vote was invalid. Party election committee sources said the invalid vote was cast by Poudel himself as he inadvertently placed his tick outside the box.

Officials at the PP election committee said five NC lawmakers did not take part in the election as three of them were out of the country and party President Koirala said he was abstaining from the voting because he didn’t want to favor one candidate against another.

Likewise, another lawmaker, Nilambar Acharya, abstained from the voting saying he was nominated a Constituent Assembly member by the cabinet.

As per the party statute, a candidate for PP leader has to get one vote more than 50 percent of the total vote. This amounts to 58 out of the party’s 114 members in the Constituent Assembly cum Legislature-Parliament.

However, in the second round of voting, a simple majority of members who vote decides the winner. The second round contest is held between the winners of the first and second largest number of votes in the first round, as per a provision in the NC PP statute.

Talking to media persons after the announcement of the election results, Kul Bahadur Gurung said he realized that he has failed to convince lawmakers in his favor. Asked which leader --Deuba or Poudel he would ask his supporters to votes for in the second round, he said, “They should vote as per their conscience.”

Another contender, Suprabha Ghimire, said she won a moral and ideological victory after contesting the election even though she could not win. “I am happy that I have been able to get as big a vote as the party general secretary,” she said, referring to the number of votes secured by Gurung.

The contenders for the post of PP leader had filed their candidacies at 9 a.m. and the voting started at 2 p.m. The voting result was announced after 7 p.m.

While the Deuba faction had pressed to hold the election Sunday, the Poudel faction insisted that it should be held the same evening.

Leaders of both factions had spent over one hour in discussions whether to hold the second round voting the same evening or put it off till Sunday.

Advertisment Concept for Media Studies Department

2009-06-21T21:22:00.005+05:30

As per the Media 2nd Year 2nd Semester assignment of Advertising we have to create one each Print ad,Radio ad and TV ad. The concept of the above mentioned three advertisements are as follows:

Print Advertisement:

This is the photo to be edited for the print advertisement. certain editing has to be done in this photo. Firstly, the top-left part of the picture will have the Logo of Kathmandu university. After the small logo, the text will be there: "We Raise The Ground High". At the Bottom-Right part of the picture the address of the Media Studies Department will be given. This advertisement in my view will be containing very short details but the above text and the picture will be defining the gist point of the advertising. these kind of print ad are the most advance type and will be attracting a lot of eyes. The graphical picture of the tree which is higher than the ground level gives the simple message that Media Studies Department provides such a education which will eventually uplift their products somewhat higher than the same kind of products from other colleges. further more definition in my view will not be needed as the name Kathmandu University itself already will be putting a concrete image of the department.

Radio Advertisement:

Boy: Just finished my +2, now i must chose a perfect college for my degree.

Girl: What subject is Your Interest in?

Boy: I always have a dream to be a Media Professional and i want best college for it.

Girl: Then stop Worrying When it comes to Media and best in it definitely Kathmandu University media studies. A 4 Year degree course designed in international system based on GPA format.

Boy: Oh.. Really! then I Got my Destiny.

Girl: Better join it soon, the seats are limited.

Television Advertisement:

The clips of advertisements of various colleges will be shown. Some describing its facility,Some its Infrastructure, some faculty. The clips will be shown for maximum 4 second. Then a full screen question mark(?) will appear. This will appear for 1 second. Then with a background picture of Kathmandu university Administration Office, the text will appear " We do not Souk" then " Its just an information to Future Wanna be Media professionals". These text will appear for less than 2 second. After that a full Address of the Department of Language and Mass Communication will appear for 2 second.

Advertising agency Profile

2009-06-21T20:52:00.004+05:30

Advertising agencies create most advertisements and are the core of the advertising industry. Some companies, however, have their own advertising departments which function much like an agency. The development, production, and placement of a single ad can be a time-consuming process involving a large number of people with a variety of business and creative skills. Advertising agencies not only create the advertisements but also pay for the cost of placing the ad in a newspaper or magazine or on television or radio. A large advertising agency or department may employ hundreds or thousands of people, including advertising and marketing specialists, designers, writers known as copywriters, artists, economists, psychologists, researchers, media analysts, product testers, librarians, accountants and bookkeepers, and mathematicians.

As Per the Media 2^nd year 2^nd semester assignment of Advertising I have presented below the Profile of one of the advertising agency of Nepal.

Profile:

Multinational Advertising Agency

Introduction:

Commenced in 2058 BS, Multinational Advertising has been is the slow and steady professional communication management in Nepal. With a list of clients, Multinational Advertising has been effectively providing communication solutions as marketing support to various brands and services. Multinational Advertising agency has also done its share in providing communication support to a good number of social marketing product campaigns either directly or in association with strategic partners.

The agency was established from a private sector. The mission of the agency is dived into two parts Making and Presenting. Either company makes the ad by themselves from the very first phase of concept development or simply the company takes the responsibility of only presenting the already prepared advertise. It also plays a mid role between the clients and media.

Located in putalisadak Multinational Advertising agencies make money in a variety of ways. The agency buys time for an ad on the radio or on television or in a newspaper or magazine. Agencies also charge clients for the cost of producing the ads. Increasingly, agency now is charging clients a straight monthly or hourly fee for all of their services or is combining a fee with some kind of commission. Agencies have turned to this approach because clients are asking them to address a range of marketing issues rather than just producing ads. The fee arrangement pays for the time devoted to these larger marketing issues.

Team/Infrastructure:

The agency is divided into a number of departments, such as account service, research, media planning and buying, the creative department, and production and most of all head. Multinational advertising agency currently has 13-14 employees. They are further sub-divided into these departments:

· Managing director…………….. 1

· Accounting department………..1

· Marketing Department………....1

· Research Department………….1

· Editors…………………………...2

· Creative department……………2

· Production department…………2

· Reception and Office Clerk……2

The agency assigns an account executive to act as link between it and the client. The account executive manages all of the services conducted on behalf of the client and coordinates the team assigned to the client's business. The account executive directs the preparation of the advertising strategy, which includes deciding how and to whom the product or service will be presented. The account executive also assigns priorities, oversees the budget, reviews and approves all recommendations before they are taken to the client, and makes sure that the agency meets all deadlines.

Clients:

The agency has been running since long a time and the clients’ number has been fluctuating a lot. Currently two types of clients are presently linked with the agency. They are:

Government Sector:

· Education Ministry

· Home Ministry

Private sector:

· Ayur Herbal Products

· Kurkure

· Lays

· Vacancy announcement

· Shehenag Hussain boutique

These are the current clients of the agency. The agency having got any kind of recognition or awards till now but the company is proud of its work. Some of the famous Advertisement of this agency is

· Ayur Herbal Shampo Advertisement.

· Shehenag hussain Boutique.

Source: Mr. Robin Shrestha Owner of the agency.

Mr. Ram Sagar Thapa Marketting Department.

Phone No. 9803144868

Still Developing Development Communication in Nepal

2009-06-13T18:13:00.002+05:30

We all know development communication and its importance in the country like Nepal. At the talk program in martin chautari on “Development Journalism: Necessity and Challenges” Laxman Dutta Pant gave in depth analysis over the situation of Development Communication in Nepal. He mentioned “Nepal still lacks in the professionalism of journalist as a whole. Journalism has become a hobby rather than job.” He added people from other profession can join journalism and this practice is creating some hurdles.

He discussed development communication in Nepal, another hotly debated concept in recent years. His analysis of Nepal’s development communication is preceded by brief examination of theories that underline development communication—diffusion of innovation, two-step flow theory, and interpersonal communication. He gave his analysis about development journalism emphasizing national identity, integration, creation of public awareness, promoting people’s participation and rural development. Pant provided a good overview on how effectively development communication can provide a strong base for the development of the 3^rd world countries like Nepal. Pant discussed about the present one way traffic of journalists rushing behind the parties and their deeds and in this trend the state of development journalists is directionless. Not only the professionalism but the studying of the development journalism is again another crisis as the course is quiet shaded. He agreed with the concept that the development journalism is a product of 3^rd world country but it is not that the 1^st world country is not practicing the system. The 1^st world countries are taking development journalism into the infrastructural development and in our cases we are more into social development.

Pant further discussed supportive environment is always essential for everything to sustain and this development journalism agenda should be given a separate entity as well. Press violation is always an undignified act which should always be settled aside. Regarding the investment over the development journalism pant pointed the lack of the investors’ interest towards this area. The lack of glamour in development journalism than in any other can be the crucial factor. Talking about the cause of the condition of development journalism sector he criticized the government and conflict with unpredicted the natural disasters.

In more than an hour long replies to various students along with the scholars Pant pointed the weakness of the reach of media to the audience and its consequences. He added the misinterpretation of media against the development journalism e.g. Boksi term being used by media. The lack of neutral advocacy can create a trouble environment which can always create hurdles in not only development journalism but every kind of it. Lastly he concluded the program along with supportive ideas from scholars and students with the jest that conventional courses for development journalism are essential and specialization rather than hobby or interest is most.

. #

Education and Book Fair 2009

2009-06-09T23:34:00.001+05:30

Book fair in my city has by no means been able to form any transform in my approach. Never have been Book-worm and not that involved to the Novels and Books. After my undergarduates the reading habit slowly gained the pace and till today maybe the list of novels have reached to the Dozens. I always had a misconception that the movies will be made of every best books so why to give extra burden to my eyes rather I can watch the movie.But When I watched the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and got to read the Book itself only about 30% of the whole story was plotted on the movie. If I hadn’t read the book I would have been missed lots of things from book. So, these days reading books for me can be the onother alternative in my free time.

Thanks to our college again,We got a chance to visit Book exhibition from our college. Like always, I was late at the spot and I couldn’t find anyone. As I was with my friend I started my own road inside the Exhibition. Maybe I was late or it was so that the crowd was very less and it was easy to roam around.

The ehibition was none other than the 13^th Nepal Education and Book fair 2009 at Bhrikutimandap. The exhibition was from 15^th may till 23^rd may. From the number 13 itself I kept the big guess that this book fair is one of the oldest of its kind and has been providing a window to the broad spectrum of education and publications.

One of the largest of its kind in Nepal, the education fair was different in terms of objectives and focus groups. The main objective of the book fair was to bring together the career-concious people from all walks of life and the career-oriented institutions including educational institutions, overseas educational centers,academic schools, colleges and universities,professionals,publishing houses,NGOs and INGOs under a single roof.

Similarly, the book exhibiton seemed equally pleasant which exhibit all genres of books ranging from philosophy to thriller and from fiction to poetry. Along with some publishing houses such as Educational Book House, Mandala Bok Print, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Ekta Prakasahan and National Book Center had participated in the event.

Some of the books my eyes cought and I had heard of somewhere were books such as jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”,Jules Verne’s “Around The World in 80 Days”, Paulo Coelho’s “ The Alchemist” and others.

Along with the Book Fair Nepal Science Competition and exhibition also attracted a big number of crowd with a variety of the experiments. There were aome kind of mixtures, Computers tutorials and lots of science and technological Creations. After looking at those kind of stuffs I was so attracted towards science and technology but immediatlely I remembered my mathematics back paper of last Smester. Just watching over others creation is easy creating your own is a big thing.

This is also Radio Nepal..........

2009-06-01T23:08:00.004+05:30

Field excursions are always hailed and thanks to our teacher Mr. Nirmala Mani Adhikary we again got the opportunity to hit the road. This time we Media studies 2^nd year and 1^st years as well had a field trip to Radio Nepal. The trip was planned to make students conscious of the functioning of radio station. SinghaDurbar gate kept us waiting for bit long and then we were on our way. We had chance to know from the beginning to the end about how the broadcasting is done. I was quiet shocked with the equipments present in Radio Nepal. I always had a misconception about the standard of Radio Nepal. But it was completely wrong. The machineries and equipments were from Japan to England. I have been to Radio station but had never seen as much well equipped one like Radio Nepal and later I came to know that none of the FM stations are as rich equipped as radio Nepal. Song library had awesome collection but somehow not well managed. It was great to know about the Radio Broadcasting and Radio Nepal. Never had in my life seen such a rich Government office. The whole 2 hour was full of surprises but in small packages. The biggest surprise was Mrs. Mira Rana. We had an opportunity to meet her over radio Nepal and I took a photo with her as well.

After the whole trip was over I had to take a short break and desperately searched for rest room. Finally a staff told me the way and I was there. To my surprise the rest room (toilet) was not what I had expected to be of radio Nepal after that awesome visit. Maybe the photo might describe it well than by myself. Then I was ready to take a photo and one of the staff of radio Nepal came and told me “where will you publish this photo of our toilet. Anyways thanks maybe after that the toilet might be repaired or simply get donation like other sectors.” So, my whole trip was full of surprises in radio Nepal but the last surprise package was a very bigger one. It was really a shameful situation of Radio Nepal. I wish I can go to the nice one in my next visit to radio Nepal which will then certainly meet the standard of radio Nepal.

Mistakes of Web designing

2009-06-01T22:34:00.002+05:30

If you want to be a blogger these are the things you should always watch out for:

1. Using Frames

Splitting a page into frames is very confusing for users since frames break the fundamental user model of the web page. All of a sudden, you cannot bookmark the current page and return to it (the bookmark points to another version of the frameset), URLs stop working, and printouts become difficult. Even worse, the predictability of user actions goes out the door: who knows what information will appear where when you click on a link?

2. Gratuitous Use of Bleeding-Edge Technology

Don't try to attract users to your site by bragging about use of the latest web technology. You may attract a few nerds, but mainstream users will care more about useful content and your ability to offer good customer service. Using the latest and greatest before it is even out of beta is a sure way to discourage users: if their system crashes while visiting your site, you can bet that many of them will not be back. Unless you are in the business of selling Internet products or services, it is better to wait until some experience has been gained with respect to the appropriate ways of using new techniques. When desktop publishing was young, people put twenty fonts in their documents: let's avoid similar design bloat on the Web.

3. Scrolling Text, Marquees, and Constantly Running Animations

Never include page elements that move incessantly. Moving images have an overpowering effect on the human peripheral vision. A web page should not emulate Times Square in New York City in its constant attack on the human senses: give your user some peace and quiet to actually read the text!

4. Complex URLs

Even though machine-level addressing like the URL should never have been exposed in the user interface, it is there. Users sometimes need to type in a URL, so try to minimize the risk of typos by using short names with all lower-case characters and no special characters (many people don't know how to type a ~).

5. Orphan Pages

Make sure that all pages include a clear indication of what web site they belong to since users may access pages directly without coming in through your home page. For the same reason, every page should have a link up to your home page as well as some indication of where they fit within the structure of your information space.

6. Long Scrolling Pages

All critical content and navigation options should be on the top part of the page.

Users will only scroll if they believe that there is something useful lower down the page.

7. Lack of Navigation Support

Don't assume that users know as much about your site as you do. They always have difficulty finding information, so they need support in the form of a strong sense of structure and place. Start your design with a good understanding of the structure of the information space and communicate this structure explicitly to the user. Provide a site map and let users know where they are and where they can go. Also, you will need a good search feature since even the best navigation support will never be enough.

8. Non-Standard Link Colors

By default links to pages that have not been seen by the user are blue; links to previously seen pages are purple or red. Don't mess with these colors since the ability to understand what links have been followed is one of the few navigational aides that is standard in most web browsers. Consistency is key to teaching users what the link colors mean.

9. Outdated Information

Budget to hire a web gardener as part of your team. You need somebody to root out the weeds and replant the flowers as the website changes but most people would rather spend their time creating new content than on maintenance. In practice, maintenance is a cheap way of enhancing the content on your website since many old pages keep their relevance and should be linked into the new pages. Of course, some pages are better off being removed completely from the server after their expiration date.

10. Overly Long Download Times

I am placing this issue last because most people already know about it; not because it is the least important. Traditional human factors guidelines indicate 10 seconds as the maximum response time before users lose interest. On the web, users have been trained to endure so much suffering that it may be acceptable to increase this limit to 15 seconds for a few pages.

Even websites with high-end users need to consider download times: we have found that many of our customers access Sun's website from home computers in the evening because they are too busy to surf the web during working hours. Bandwidth is getting worse, not better, as the Internet adds users faster than the infrastructure can keep up.

The Golden Age Of Nepalese Sculpture

2009-05-07T12:18:00.001+05:30

Nepalese sculpture reached its zenith in the Lichchhavi period; stone, copper and bronze images from this period show round faces with slanted eyes. While attention was also given to details, the main feature of this period is presentation of simplicity. The use of clothes and ornaments was quite restrained: many Hindu deities, for example are shownwearing only a Dhoti (skirt-like lower garment). Buddhist deities were carved to show them wearing long Sanghatis (a long saffron-colored robe that the Buddhists wear hanging from the shoulders). Lichchhavi period sculptors mostly used basalt for their work, first chiseling and then smoothing and varnishing, perhaps with iron dust. The limbs of Lichchhavi period idols were so beautifully executed that it is not possible to find one specimen with a chiseled mark. Some of the best examples of Lichchhavi art are the images of Sleeping Vishnu in Budhanilkantha, located

8 Kilometres north of Kathmandu; and the Vishnu Vikranta or Dwarf Incarnation found near Lazimpat in Kathmandu. In addition, there are some remarkable sculptures from Lichchhavi period (5th-8th century) at Changu Narayan. The sculptural arts of 6th-14th century and from early Malla period (11th-14th century) comprise equally important art treasures of Nepal.

Cultural Heritage

2009-05-07T12:04:00.003+05:30

A country's cultural heritage includes all traces of human activity in the physical environment. These are irreplaceable sources of information on people's lives and activities, and on the historical development of crafts, techniques and art. Because monuments and sites and cultural environments are non-renewable resources, their management must be based on a long-term perspective. Cultural monuments and sites are a source of emotional and aesthetic experiences for many people, and modern society can benefit from the preservation and active use of its cultural heritage.

The Directorate for Cultural Heritage is responsible for the management of all archaeological and architectural monuments and sites and cultural environments in accordance with the applicable legislation. The Directorate is under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment and plays a central role in public environmental management.

Each county has a service responsible for cultural conservation in connection with the general administration of cultural affairs. The tasks of this service are to advise the county administration on cultural heritage management issues and to ensure that protected monuments and sites and cultural environments are taken into account in planning processes at the county and the municipal level. In the Sami areas, the Sámediggi (Sami Parliament) has the same tasks as the county cultural heritage service.

The Archaeological Museums administer excavations and investigations of archaeological monuments and sites.The Maritime Museums are responsible for monuments at the bottom of the sea.In accordance with the cultural heritage regulations for Svalbard, the Governor’s Office administers cultural conservation on Svalbard.

The purpose of cultural heritage management is described in the Cultural Heritage Act, which stipulates that it is a national responsibility to safeguard archaeological and architectural monuments and sites and cultural environments “as part of our cultural heritage and identity and as an element in the overall environment and resource management.” Under the provisions of the Act, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage may impose a protection order on buildings, groups of buildings and cultural landscapes. The Cultural Heritage Act also regulates the relations between the authorities and the owners of protected monuments and sites. However, only a fraction of Norway’s cultural heritage is protected in this way. There are a large number of buildings and other monuments and sites considered worthy of protection because of their qualities and their importance to the surrounding environment. Other acts of legislation, for instance the Building and Planning Act, may be invoked to protect these monuments and sites. However, the best method of conservation is to encourage the owners of monuments and sites to maintain these unique properties whether or not they are legally protected.

Narrative Journalism

2009-05-07T11:59:00.002+05:30

Narrative journalism is a form of journalism. Unlike straight news stories -- which offer readers the basic who, what, where, when and why of a story -- narrative news pieces are longer and allow the writer to employ more elements of prose writing.

Stories that are considered narrative journalism often appear in magazines and allow a reporter to approach a subject in different ways. The famed journalist Tom Wolfe is among those credited with pioneering the use of narrative journalism.

Generations ago, narrative journalism was the rule in reporting and not the exception. Stories (sometimes rather subjectively reported and quite long by today's standards) in magazines and newspapers led the reader through a gripping tale told entirely from the view and experiences of the author. However, times have definitely changed.

Today, narrative journalism is not commonly used by most mainstream media outlets. In fact, many journalists stick with very basic formulas or utilize the "inverted pyramid" style of reporting in an effort to keep their writing concise and easy to edit. Some may even be unfamiliar with the technique, having never learned it throughout their careers as "beat" reporters.

Yet there is still room for narrative journalism in today's global marketplace where the Internet is available 24-hours a day, and authors eager to test their competence using a new technique may truly enjoy writing a news report that reads much more like a story than a series of objectively written paragraphs.

The narrative journalism style requires that the author put him - or herself into the article; thus, the piece may be written from a first-person perspective. However, it may also be told from a third-person viewpoint but with subjective nuances in the text.

Of course, it's tricky to write a true narrative if you're accustomed to sticking to "just the facts" and not adding any extraneous adjectives or adverbs to the mix, let alone personal opinions. You really have to let yourself "loose"; in fact, you may want to seek out some articles in the narrative journalism style to give you hints. (The New Yorker magazine is an excellent resource for narrative journalism examples.)

Some Narrative Journalism Concerns

One of the biggest worries editors and publishers have about narrative journalism is that because it's a blend of facts and feelings, problems can occur. Recently, many authors have been nabbed for stating mistruths in their pieces. Though some of the journalists accused of making up details were in fact guilty, others claimed to have simply misinterpreted situations. Because narrative journalism makes fact-checking challenging, it is still considered taboo in most news rooms.

Thus, if you're planning on trying out narrative journalism, talk to your editor first (if applicable.) Find out if he or she has any concerns regarding the technique, and try to hash out a plan so you'll both be comfortable with the outcome. That way, you won't be nailed when you turn in an assignment that isn't acceptable to your editor or his or her publication.

Gearing up to be a Narrative Journalist

Again, this art form hasn't been lost; it's simply been "on holiday" for a while. If you want to be one of the few journalists known for writing exceptional stories in a narrative journalism style, you'll need to practice.

A good way is to take an existing story from a newspaper and re-write it from a narrative viewpoint. At first, this exercise might feel awkward, especially if you're accustomed to working with "inverted pyramids". However, after some time, you'll begin to understand how to put together a narrative piece that is provocative and, above all else, truthful.

A second method of learning more about narrative journalism is to actively seek out stories written using the technique. Contrast them with other nonfiction articles you've read (or written).

Enjoy yourself as you learn this craft; after all, educating yourself in the various methods of writing will only make you a stronger, more well-rounded journalist.

Yeah Load-Shedding....

2009-04-30T11:44:00.001+05:30

The world today has leaped into the new epoch of digital substitutes. We as a normal entity of contemporary time find ourself entirely bordered by the number of digital selections around us. From television serials to internet jamming, we appoint our whole time with the bottoms and remotes.

The present situation of load-shedding has changed the scenario upside down. The regular power cut-off has hit big kick to the electronic world. I might have laptop but even a laptop can’t cope up with this sort of a long power cut-off. This has changed the entire lifestyle of what actually it would be of digital haves society. The daily routine has to be changed and keyboards are to be exchange with the pencil. The time when electricity was quite adequate, I always had package of alternates to appoint and entertain myself. I would rather be dipping into the internet whole day, or simply playing my play station. Watching movies and listening to song s were other best things to do. I was so much into it that the outside world was getting far-flung.

The long-lasting I would say and quiet boring power-cut-off was like a chronic disease to me. I had been so much addicted that the long power cut-off was a tough and the most frantic wait for me. But eventually, I am overcoming this addiction of mine. These days I rather enjoy the load shedding than hate it with my gigantic rage. I engage myself doing practical things than being a slave to electricity. Power cut-off have had made me more close to my friends and of course, my family. During regular power supply, I have never occupied myself with my family more than for a meal. But now, I spend hour’s conversation with my parents. I use similar sort of time with my friends. I go traveling, hiking or simply roam around. Life is beautiful when you feel it with your experience and I have known it these days. Now, I fairly thank load shedding for bringing me back to living.

I have now known that it’s awesome to practically experience anything than to watch it done by others. From playing sports to your own creation it’s full of excitement. I was once undisputed in FIFA game. No one could win me and when I went to play a real football I was terrible. So, what I have known is that life should not be pessimistic as it is full of alternates. It is us who have to search for it and grasp it for the fullest.

My writing is not against the digital world and it is not that I don’t need it. The whole advance way of life is there and has made us quiet dependent but shouldn’t we remember for what extent. We should maintain our addiction to digital world for a limitation. Never put yourself inside the walls and try to see the world outside from a click. Get your boot and go out for a lot of adventures and experience and know it from your way.

Journalism and Democracy

2009-01-03T11:21:00.000+05:30

The 19 days revolution of Nepal results in an immense triumph. Why should we care about press coverage during that time? What does it matter, for example, if The Kantipur does a terrific job or, upon examining its own work, finds fault with how it reported the run up to the uprising? The answers to these questions depend upon the purpose of journalism in a democracy. Given that journalism serves a mass audience made up primarily of citizens, how one sees that purpose depends on how one defines the work – the obligations, if you will – of citizens in a democracy.

For political theorists, this is a central question, as old as Socrates. But theorists do not focus enough attention on citizens’ use of the mass media. For journalists and journalism professors, the obligations of citizens should also be a central issue. One cannot evaluate the quality of news coverage without asking what readers, listeners and viewers should do with the news. In turn, that means asking what obligations we have as citizens.

In the democratic equation, there are three types of identities: the politicians, the public, and the publication. The three elite ”P’s” of the democratic process which, through their correlation with each other, make modern democracy unique compared to other political philosophies. The relationship between the politician and the public, through the media and journalism particularly, is distinctive in a democracy, and has a very special connection with the electoral process, which separates true democracies from imitations. Remember, even the China had elections, but that certainly did not make them a democracy. Liberated media is fundamentally crucial in genuine democratic societies because it practices the theory of including the public in governmental affairs, and commemorates the democratic idea that reality can only be relative and truth and facts are to be deemed authentic by individuals, not administrators.

Journalism is necessary because direct democracy is obsolete. People do not really have a say in modern democracy, aside from their vote, unless they are a politician themselves. Journalism serves as a window; however it could be rose colored glass, to the bureaucracy that is democratic process. From there you can see what polices and philosophies you buy into. Journalism, relating to the politicians, is the glass display counter that lets the audience see what kind of watches there are to buy. Some are fake, some are real. You buy the one you like, but in an eerie “twilight zone” plot twist, the appreciated watches stay under the display, and the underappreciated watches disappear. The average man is discreetly unconnected in a democracy, his opinions and beliefs have no real influence on anything. The only real reason there is journalism in a democracy is so the average man is aware that there is an election, so he can vote! And to vote for whom, largely depends on which newspaper and journalist you subscribe to. While politics might make up less than a quarter of a newspaper, make no mistake, journalism is the advertising agency of politicians. The rest is simply marketable brain fodder.

Journalists serve as cocaine dealers. But also the wholesaler and retailer. If journalism was like a cocaine supply trade, journalism would be the “internal supply chain”, consisting of purchasing, producing, and distribution. Cocaine, consisting of interviews, government “leaks”, and alleged scandals would be bought at a low price, refined with sweetener, and sold to the men, women, and bloggers of the country. To be a journalist is to have the freedom to modify the raw facts given from sources, to change information so that the audience can see the world from different perspectives. Journalists have the freedom, and should be encouraged, to have and publish their own opinions because many journalists lack the courage to have diverse opinions in publications, also by ignoring and un-publishing individual opinions, free journalism and press would become futile. The main difference between a democratic and non democratic country is not determined by elections, but by how free their journalists are.

Journalism is an anarchist dimension where individuals can choose to relay the truth, or make their own. Governments don’t need free press, but free journalism needs democracy. Free journalism is simply impossible without one. A democracy would be unattainable without attempting to include the public into governmental affairs. A French novelist once said, “Free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.” Journalism, for better or for worse, is the best example of the freedom of individuals and the importance of free thought in a democracy.

As a general rule, I think citizens should avoid shortcuts and try to use solid information. For example, you don’t have to listen to The Kantipur or The Himalayan Times argue about the Army problem and compare each side because all newspaper has selfish agendas. Instead, you can actually look at real incident and make up your own mind. But the “fog of media” makes that kind of analysis impossible to be seen in citizens.

I don’t really know the solution, but I think that all of us should be somewhat cautious about our own judgments and open to arguments from the other side. We should look for constructive opportunities rather than wish that our domestic political opponents are damaged by the war. And we should hold onto hope, even if we believe that the invasion and occupation were grave errors in the first place.

If we can decide why citizens need to be well informed, then we can ask what kind of press they need and how they should use the available media. It is our overall conclusion that raising this question would be the best way to promote discussion between journalists and Democracy.

Easy as The Rain

2008-12-31T06:39:00.004+05:30

Lost in the conversation
It was hard to say goodnight
Standing at the station, tossing it all around
Easy as the rain came down
Both of us were used to losing
Guess we had some tales to tell
Suddenly they seemed amusing, till it came
Easy as the rain came in
When the train pulled inI knew right then
You weren't going anywhere
And when the train pulled out
There was no doubt
Left in our minds
That was many years ago dear
Though they haven't all been kind
They take on a certain glow when I hear the sound
Rain falling on the ground
Easy as the rain came down
Lost in the conversation
It was hard to say goodnight
Standing at the station, tossing it all around
Easy as the rain came down
Easy as the rain came down

Strawberry Fields

2008-12-31T06:36:00.005+05:30

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.

Strawberry Fields forever.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.

It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn't matter much to me.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.

Strawberry Fields forever.

No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.

That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right, that is I think it's not too bad.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.

Strawberry Fields forever.

Always, no sometimes, think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.

I think I know I mean a 'Yes' but it's all wrong, that is I think I disagree.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.Strawberry Fields forever.

Strawberry Fields forever.................................................

Globalization and Culture

2008-12-31T06:17:00.001+05:30

Technology has now created the possibility and even the likelihood of a global culture. The Internet, fax machines, satellites, and cable TV are sweeping away cultural boundaries. Global entertainment companies shape the perceptions and dreams of ordinary citizens, wherever they live. This spread of values, norms, and culture tends to promote Western ideals of capitalism. Will local cultures inevitably fall victim to this global "consumer" culture? Will English eradicate all other languages? Will consumer values overwhelm peoples' sense of community and social solidarity? Or, on the contrary, will a common culture lead the way to greater shared values and political unity? This section looks at these and other issues of culture and globalization.
Globalization is a complex process because it involves rapid social change that is occurring simultaneously across a number of dimensions – in the world economy, in politics, in communications, in the physical environment and in culture – and each of these transformations interacts with the others. So it’s a complicated process to grasp in its entirety. And there are all sorts of theoretical issues – to do with its causality, its historical and geographical sources, and its relationship to other concepts like modernity and post modernity, its social consequences, and its differential impact – that are difficult and controversial. However, at its core, there is something going on which is quite simple to describe – and I call this a process of accelerating ‘connectivity’. (Tomlinson, 1999). By this I mean that globalization refers to the rapidly developing and ever-densening network of interconnections and interdependencies that characterize modern social life. At its most basic, globalization is quite simply a description of these networks and of their implications – for instance in the various ‘flows’ - of capital, commodities, people, knowledge, information and ideas, crime, pollution, diseases, fashions, beliefs, images and so on – across international boundaries.
This increasing connectivity is, in some ways, an obvious aspect of our lives. It is something we can all – at least in developed societies - recognize in everyday routine practices: in our use of communications technologies – mobile phones, computers, email, the internet - in the built environment we inhabit, in the sort of food we eat, in the way we earn our livings, and in the way we entertain ourselves – in cinema, television and so on. It’s pretty obvious that we are living in a much more globally ‘connected’ world today than even thirty of forty years ago. But what does this all mean culturally? Does it mean that, as many people suppose, we are inevitably being drawn together, for good or ill, into a single global culture?
One reason why people believe that globalization will lead to a single global culture is that they see the effects of connectivity in other spheres – particularly in the economic sphere – producing an integrated system .Whereas it was in the past possible to understand social and economic processes and practices as a set of local, relatively ‘independent’ phenomena, globalization makes the world , to quote Roland Robertson (1992) , a 'single place'. Obvious examples of this are the way in which the economic affairs of nation-states are locked into a complex global capitalist economic system which restricts the autonomy of individual states, or how the environmental effects of local industrial processes can rapidly become global problems.
However, increasing global connectivity by no means necessarily implies that the world is becoming either economically or politically ‘unified’. Despite its reach, few would dare to claim that the effects of globalization currently extends in any profound way to every single person or place on the planet, and speculation on its spread must surely be tempered by the many countervailing trends towards social, political and indeed cultural division that we see around us. This is a point that is frequently made by theorists of development: what used to be called the ‘Third World’ does not partake of the globalised economy or of globalised communications in the same way as the developed world. So we have to qualify the idea of globalization by saying that it is an uneven process - with areas of concentration and density of flow and other areas of neglect or even perhaps exclusion (Massey, 1994). So globalization in this sense is not quite global.
Poised at the turn of the century, we are living in a world where the 'culture of globalization' pervades all walks of life following simultaneous communication through cinema, television, trade and tourism, compressing the political, economic and socio-cultural space in the process. Whereas the 'hyper-globalist' defines the contemporary world in terms of economic globalization and the end of nation state, the 'skeptics' view the whole debate about culture of globalization in terms of a cliché. Though it is premature to assess the impact of culture of globalization on national cultures and identities, it cannot be denied that these no longer remain robust and unsullied. In fact, the global infrastructures of culture and communication have contributed a great deal in the formation of epistemic transnational elite communities; formation of transnational political lobbies and alliances; development and entrenchment of diasporic culture and communities; increasing openness of information and cultural autonomy. Virtually all countries in the world, if not all parts of their territory, and all segments of their society, have now become part of the larger global system in a way. Interestingly, the culture of globalization has led to the emergence of new patterns of global stratification in which some states, societies and communities are enmeshed in the global order whereas others are marginalized. The 'culture of globalization' and 'globalization of culture' strives towards 'deterritorialization' and 're-territorialization' of political and economic power in the era of borderless world and global village. My paper seeks to examine the challenges of multiculturalism and hybrid culture faced by various countries worldwide. They are finding it difficult to contain the demands for group rights based on 'identity politics' within the 'liberal framework'. It is becoming very difficult for them to sustain the demands for 'group rights' based upon rationality and universality within the framework of their existing capacity, leadership, preferences, and socio-cultural norms, political and economic development. The methodology adopted is analytical, conceptual and comparative.

Music and Globalization

2008-12-31T06:12:00.001+05:30

The influence that music has throughout the world is immeasurable. Music evokes many feeling, surfaces old memories, and creates new ones all while satisfying a sense of human emotion. With the ability to help identify a culture, as well as educate countries about other cultures, music also provides for a sense of knowledge. Music can be a tool for many things: relaxation, stimulation and communication. But at the same time it can also be a tool for resistance: against parents, against police against power. Within the reign of imported culture, cross cultivation and the creation of the so-called global village lies the need to expand horizons to engulf more than just what you see every day. It is important to note that the role of music in today’s world is a key tool in the process of globalization. However, this does not necessarily provide us with any reasons that would make us believe that music has a homogenizing affect on the world. Globalization is becoming one of the most controversial topics in today’s world. We see people arguing over the loss of a nation’s cultural identity, the terror of westernization, and the reign of cultural imperialism. Through topics such as these we explore the possibilities or the existence of hybridization of cultures and values, and what some feel is the exploitation of their heritage. One important aspect that is not explored is that such influences can also be more than just a burden and an overstepping of bounds. These factors can create an educational environment as well as a reaffirmation of one’s own culture. With the music being the highly profitable, capitalist enterprise that it is today, it is no wonder that it is controlled and regulated by a few large conglomerates that exist is today’s world. It is important to make clear that although evidence is being presented of the positive aspects of globalization through music that there is overwhelming evidence that cultural imperialism is more than it seems on the outside. One must keep in mind that cultural imperialism, globalization and the creation of a global village is a business. People are profiting at other people’s loss of cultural identity, they are sold a culture and heritage. With the every growing N’Sync fan clubs and Britney clones, the world is turning into a stage for pop culture and its glamorous unattainable standards. Through the processes that this world is going through we find ourselves blurring the lines of difference that once existed. This has been referred to by Lomax as a “cultural grey out.” Basically what this theory says is that cultural lines are meshed together so much that is almost impossible to distinguish between them due to the fact that they have so many similar characteristics. Lomax also states that due to the widespread distribution of “industrialized” music and the loss of music that exemplifies cultural aspects and characteristics, civilizations are not maintaining a sense of national pride and identity. Without these distinguishing lines, Schiller states that at one time it was cultural diversity that flourished, and now we are witnessing the diffusion of such a process. He goes on to state, as well as warn, that if such a process of cultural breakdown were to keep evolving, we would have to face a “global consumer monoculture.” As stated previously, it is important to realize how big of a business culture has become. Through the use of quantitative analysis we can see the control that the major conglomerates have over the distribution of music. Burnett, in empirical studies of market concentration in music, reports that seven corporations together controlled no less than 50 percent of market share in any country where they had operations and up to 80 percent in some countries. The seven corporations, with their nation of origin and reported 2005 sales, are: Sony (Japan, $5 billion), Time/Warner (U.S., $12.9 billion), Polygram (Netherlands/Germany, $12.6 billion), Bertelsmann Media Group (Germany, $8 billion), Thorn/EMI (U.K., $8 billion), MCA (U.S., $4 billion), and Virgin (U.K., $2 billion), total 2000 sales $53.88 billion .With number such as these it is nearly impossible to deny the fact that these companies do not have a great affect on the influence of music and media that they distribute. Conglomerates not only run the market for music, but determine which music is to be distributed and to where, therefore pushing an idea or culture onto a nation. Seeing that westernization has become an industry term for many businesses it is surprising that recently much of the profit that has been received from music conglomerates has been non-U.S. artists. As shown in the July 17, 1995 issue of Forbes one-third of the Warner Music’s three hundred and eighteen dollar revenues in 1980 came from non U.S. artists. This was then followed up by sixty percent of their 1994 revenues, which totaled over six hundred and thirty million. Warner Music is not the only company that has seen a boom in foreign artist sales. Consequently, EMI reports that it received one-third of its three billion dollars in revenue has also come from foreign artists. Polygram also reported that one half of its three billion plus revenues has come from the evolution of foreign pop culture. So why has this become the product to import? Well once again it is very well evident in the numbers. The bottom line is that Record companies in the United States operate on a gross profit margin of thirty to thirty-five percent, whereas overseas this margin can top forty-five percent. This comes from evidence that American pop stars demand a higher sense of appreciation and perks compared to foreign stars that demand less and cut less exclusive record deals. To top it off, the prices of albums on foreign markets are higher than that of the United States market. Executives are not the only ones that are having an influence on the spread of culture through music around the world, celebrities and pop stars are now playing a large role. Artists such as Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Michael Jackson set out on worldwide tours to spread their music throughout the world. These artist have realized the caliber and sheer numbers they can produce by not just focusing on one area. As site by Farley (2001) artist sometimes do not conquer a civilization completely, but help to create a hybrid form that has been formed using aspects of a person’s own culture and incorporating foreign attributes. For example, within Jamaica, there is a form of music known as “ragga”, which is a rap-influenced form of reggae. This is a perfect example how music can have somewhat of a positive effect.

However, there are negative affects which come with such an influence. Along with the influence of the lyrics from rap came a lot more than Jamaica bargained for. They find that with local ragga star “Elephant Man’s” lyrics such as “Badman nah run from police inna shootout/ Whole crew a government see dem pon di lookout….”, they have incorporated violence and hate. At recent concerts there have been fights, injuries, gunfire and death. So as positive as it seemed to incorporate foreign aspects into their music, it turned out to be a horrid influence. Artists also have had a key role in promoting “world music”. (World music is defines as music that was written by artists from a foreign country in a native tongue.) U.S. based artists such as Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne are seeking to improve relations between U.S. and world music artists. Through promoting foreign artists these musicians hope to show the American public the joy that can be experienced through native tongues and unheard beats. One of the major fears associated with the globalization of music is the creation of a global monoculture. Barlow investigates how the global monoculture has infiltrated every corner of the earth. He feels that North American corporate culture, including the music industry, is destroying local tradition, knowledge, skill, artisans and values. Specifically artisans have been affected through the fact that the product that they have tried to market has been outdated and overrun by the pop star garbage that has taken over the world and destroyed cultures. The premise of Barlow’s argument finds that this is corporate America is not only destroying traditions, but it is burying a cultures overall identity. As best said by Nawal Hassan, a Egyptian artisan activist, “This is an issue of identity. All our civilizations have ceased to be spiritual. Our civilization has become commercial.” (Barlow 2001) People in this world feel that they need to be different from one another for many reasons. Maybe it is superiority or inferiority, but there is a never dying need to be an individual. One of the main causes for the affects that music has had globally is the open-mindedness of the people that have accepted it. For example in 1959, Richie Valens hit the top of the charts with his song “La Bamba”. After this large hit, it was forty years before the world excepted another Latin rocker – Santana. With Santana’s worldwide success sparked room for artists such as Wyclef Jean. Wyclef formed a new hybrid formed of Haitian Creole and English. Even U.S. based Christina Aguilera recorded an entire CD entirely in Spanish. Within transitions to create a global market, these artists have found not only how to make money and survive in a capitalistic world, but how to satisfy more than one cultural group. This is not the first time we have seen something like this though. In 1958, Dean Martin recorded on of his biggest hits by recording “Volare”. The importance of this song is found not only in the fact that it is an original Italian song, but that it is recorded incorporating both English and Italian into the song at the same time. Frank Sinatra also tried this same approach in 1967. He recorded an album of songs done by Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobin. As noted by the Music Council of Australia (MCA) it is globalization that has an affect on music. They state: “80% of the world’s trade in music happens under four giant transnational recording companies whose fortunes at present depend on global marketing of Anglo-American pop music. We can buy music of virtually any culture by ordering from massive catalogues from internet music suppliers, locations unknown. Furthermore, the whole deal can take place on the internet: the search, the ordering, the payment and the delivery. We needn’t leave the room. Music, more than almost any other commodity, has lent itself to globalization. And globalization is upon it.”

Mimansha

2008-12-31T05:04:00.001+05:30

Hinduism is a socio-cultural practice comprising Puranas (myths) and Darsana (philosophy). The root of the word Darshan is Drish (to see) and Darshana means ‘looking at things’. In Hinduism, the myths and philosophies are always blended. Some of the Myths induced philosophy and at the same time Philosophical Doctrines influenced the creation of new myths (at an early stage of development of the Sanatan Cult/Hinduism).
There exist six individual philosophical doctrines in Hinduism. These are,
1. Nyaya,
2. Vaiseshika,
3. Yoga,
4. Sankhya,
5. Purba Mimansha and
6. Uttar Mimansha.
The Nyaya Doctrine was developed by Rishi Goutama and he wrote a book called ‘Nyayasutras’. It is believed that Nyayasutras existed much before Gautama, but he was the first philosopher who compiled and edited the Sutras in his works. The first critical analysis of the Nyayasutras was given by Vatasyayana in the fourth century. The Vaiseshika Sutras were given by Rishi Kanada and his sutras were first analyzed by Prasastapada in Bhasya (language) in the 5th century. The authoritative works of Vaiseshika are Kiranvali of Udayana and Kandali of Sridhara. It is often considered that both Nyaya and Vaiseshika belong to the same doctrine, as both dealt with reality of various objective knowledge. The philosophers of these doctrines explained the whole universe but there was no mention of God itself. They, however, identified Atman or God in Self. The philosophers of Nyaya and Vaiseshika believe that the ultimate goal of life is Mukti, which can be compared with Samadhi, Nirvana and Fana Billah of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic Sufi doctrines respectively. The Sankhya, an important and influential doctrine of Hindu philosophy, recognizes the authority of the Vedas and the Upanishads. It was developed by Rishi Kapila. The thoughts of Kapila were recorded in Sankhya Sutras and in Ishwar Krishna’s Sankhya Karika (5th century). According to Sankhya doctrine, the universe is a duo of Paurasha and Prakriti, where the Paurasha is soul and Prakriti is nature with all of its active and dynamic forms. The Paurasha exists without any sense or feeling of pain, pleasure or desire, whereas Prakriti along with its space, time, activities and results, is always dynamic and fertile. The Gunas (qualities) of Prakriti are Sattva (refinement), Tamas (grossness) and Rajas (activity). According to the philosophers of this doctrine, human beings are made up of
1. Paurasha,
2. Antasharira (a subtle body) and
3. Lingasharira (gross body).
The Purva Mimansha philosophy is dedicated to finding out the truths about Brahmanas, which precedes the Upanishad (the 101 philosophical sections of the Vedas). The original works of this doctrine is Mimansha Sutras written by Jaimini in the 3rd century. The philosophers of this doctrine believe that revelation can be proven by logic and thus they put more emphasis on Dharma as a social and religious activity. The Purva Mimansha lost its importance at a later stage. The Uttar Mimansha is totally based on the Upanishads and often called as Vedanta philosophy. Badrayana’s work Vedanta Sutras details the Uttar Mimansha philosophy. Muni Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and Purana, compiled the Vedas. Shankaracharya of the 10th century was a celebrated commentator of Vedanta and he also advocated for Advaita or absolute monism. Advaita philosophy says—‘nothing exists other than God and Nirguna Brahma (God) is the Supreme Being’. All the objects other than Brahma is only Maya (illusion), which are created by ignorance.. The Vedanta philosophy recognized the importance of knowledge to touch the sphere of God and suggested that one could possess the divine light by detaching oneself from pleasure oriented world affairs and by adopting Vedanta ways of life. At a latter stage, Ramanuja gave a new interpretation of the Vedas as Vishistha Advaita and commented—‘there are three realities, God, Soul and Matter’.

UNITED NATION AND GLOBALIZATION

2008-12-31T04:47:00.003+05:30

We are meeting at the beginning of the new century, facing the serious crises handed over from the last century. A few years ago someone predicted the "end of history", the end of conflicts of ideas or physical conflicts as all countries and people embrace the single goal of free markets and liberal democracy.
But the end of the Cold War did not usher in universal prosperity or brotherhood. The scandal of poverty remains more entrenched, and there are rising inequalities between countries, social classes, men and women, indigenous people and those who want to colonies their resources. Instead of peace and security, there are conflicts and insecurities, some of them resulting from global pressures and from inequities and poverty. There is the environmental crisis, raising questions about survival of Earth and humanity. There are the threats of technology gone wrong, such as nuclear power, toxic chemicals and genetic engineering. In the area of health, scientists are predicting the end of the antibiotics era as disease-bearing bacteria and viruses overcome overused antibiotics and pose the threat of new epidemics.
Our age is also defined by the process of globalization. There are different approaches to this phenomenon. Some say it is inevitable and basically good; you just have to adjust to it and learn to reap the benefits. Others worry about the costs and advocate some safety nets to catch the losers as they fall. In truth, the essence of globalization is the push by big companies and financial institutions to have more power, to grow bigger through taking over others, and make more profits. They have lobbied their governments, of the rich countries, to break down the national barriers that prevent them from totally free access to markets across the world, especially in the developing countries.
These countries' economies had suffered during colonialism, so in the first phase of independence, governments of many of these countries instituted measures to boost their weak domestic economy, domestic firms, banks and farms. They had affirmative action policies in favor of the local economy and firms, and defended them from predatory big foreign firms. These big firms now want to break down the barriers so that they can take over the local firms and farms of the developing world and increase their monopoly. Thus we now see the liberalization of trade, finance and investment. But in areas where the big companies and their governments would lose from liberalization, they practice protectionism, for example the imposition of high intellectual property standards throughout the world which is protectionist, in creating monopoly of technology by the big companies and hindering technology transfer.
Globalization as practiced today is a kind of apartheid, a term mentioned by Juan Somavia, director-general of the ILO in his speech just now. It is misleading and it skirts the issue to talk only in terms of "sharing better the benefits of globalization" and helping the "marginalized." This presumes that globalization only produces benefits, but some gain more than others. In reality, globalization creates benefits for some, losses for others, and worse, the same process that generates benefits also generates losses. So, part of the benefits of the gainers is at the expense of the losses of the losers.
Globalization is a process that can be called re-colonization, a new form of colonialism is operating. When the people fought against slavery, or apartheid, or colonialism, they did not speak in terms of sharing better the benefits of slavery or apartheid or colonialism. They fought the systems of slavery, apartheid and colonialism themselves. So too we cannot just talk of sharing better the benefits of globalization. We have to fight the system of the globalization we have today.
The crux of the problem is the unequal distribution of power and wealth in the world. We must recognize this and not skirt the issue. Those that hold power and wealth want to keep it and protect it. Thus we see the double standards that exist between what is preached towards others and what is protected for themselves to maintain the monopoly of power and wealth. There has been the successful campaign to ban land mines, a victory of the people's movements. But the nuclear powers still refuse to ban nuclear weapons. There is much talk and conditionality to get transparency and democracy going at the national level, and we NGOs have been part of this campaign in our countries. But the major countries refuse to democratize at the international level, where the global decisions are taken mainly by the G8 or the OECD or the Breton Woods institutions and WTO, without the adequate participation of smaller nations, let alone the civil society. There has been the great pressure of the rich countries to get the poorer countries to liberalize their economies, but the North practices protectionism when they insist on patenting their technologies, when they practice bio-piracy, when they do not open their doors to labor coming from the South.
Vital Statistics
Of the world's six billion people, 1.2 billion live in extreme poverty, or on an income of roughly US $1 a day or less. Just fewer than 3 billion people live on $2 a day or less.
Industrialized countries, with 19 per cent of the world's population, account for 71% of global trade in goods and services, 58 per cent of foreign direct investment, and 91% of all Internet users.
More than US$1.5 billion is now exchanged on the world's currency markets each day.
Foreign investment topped US$400 billion in 1997, seven times the level, in real terms, of the 1970s.
Between 1983 and 1993, cross-border sales of US Treasury bonds increased from $30 billion to $500 billion per year.
International bank lending grew from $265 billion in 1975 to $4.2 trillion in 1994.
The world's 200 richest people more than doubled their net worth in the four years before 1998, to more than $1 trillion. The assets of the top three billionaires total more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries with their 600 million people.

The United Nations has struggled with the challenges of globalization for several years, especially since the Asian financial crisis. It has paid particular attention to the needs of developing countries, deemed least well equipped to cope. All relevant parts of the UN system have been engaged, as well as the Breton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization. In the process, the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) has gained new life--and, as of 2000, a new name: the Chief Executives Board (CEB). Since 1998, it has become the venue for a series of discussions, including at informal retreats initiated by Secretary-General Annan, in which the executive heads have explored the different dimensions of globalization and debated appropriate policy approaches by which the UN system as a whole can help better manage its risks and secure its benefits.
One paramount concern has emerged from these reflections: the need to achieve a greater degree of policy coherence at national and international levels alike in response to the integrated challenges that globalization poses) Globalization does not come in tidy sectoral or geographically demarcated packages. It is all about interconnections--among people; across states; in production networks and financial markets; between greed and grievance; among failing states, terrorism, and criminal networks; between nature and society. The complex interrelatedness of issues and their cumulative, often unforeseen, consequences demand far greater policy coherence than the existing system of national and international institutions has been able to muster.
This article provides a brief analytical overview of innovative efforts by the UN to achieve greater coherence in the face of globalization. It is intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive. It examines five instances of this quest and draws some lessons from them: the greater convergence of views about globalization among the main UN actors and other multilateral institutions; the formulation of clear system wide priorities for poverty eradication and related development targets; the endeavor to better coordinate the development assistance that international agencies provide at the country level; some of the UN's work in information and communication technology intended to help bridge the digital divide; and the Global Compact, engaging global business to advance UN social and environmental principles. But first, some prefatory remarks about the UN system's architecture are in order.

Media in Maldives

2008-12-31T03:46:00.003+05:30

Maldives is made up of a chain of 1190 small coral islands that are grouped into 26 atolsThe major daily newspaper in Maldives is Haveeru.com.mv which also has online (North Side) in Male with a circulation of 2,500. Aafathis, another daily in Dhivehi and English, has a circulation of 300. Maldives also has a number of weekly and monthly publications as well as several news agencies and publishers.
Censorship exists in Maldives although on a smaller scale than before President Gayoom took office in 1978. Nevertheless, open dissent against the government is not tolerated. For example, in early 1990 the Consultative Council discussed freedom of speech in the press. But when publications critical of the government appeared in the spring of 1990, all publications that lacked government sanction were banned. Also, leading writers and publishers have been arrested.
Hindi-language films, newspapers, and magazines from India are popular. For eleven hours each day, the government radio station Voice of Maldives, established in 1962, broadcasts to the entire country in Dhivehi and English. Maldivians in 1990 had 27,848 radio receivers to pick up such broadcasts. In 1978 government-run Television Maldives was established. During the week, its one channel broadcasts for five hours a day, with an extended weekend service. However, it can only be received (by the 6,591 Maldivians with television sets in 1992) within a thirty-kilometer radius of Male. Maldives also receives broadcasts by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Australia, and Radio Beijing.
Given the censorship that exists, the media play only a limited role in promoting greater democracy. A major question facing Maldives is the way in which democracy will be defined in view of the contrast between a South Asian kinship system and its egalitarian Western-style parliamentary elections.
Constitution
Government organization is based on the 1968 constitution, as revised in 1970, 1972, and 1975. The document provides the basis for a highly centralized, presidential form of government. Its philosophical frame of reference is derived from Islam; thus the distinction between secular and religious authority is often academic. The constitution vests final authority for the propagation of Islam in the president, who in turn is empowered to appoint all judges who interpret and apply the sharia in the adjudication of civil and criminal cases. In Maldives, therefore, the courts are not independent of the executive branch, but rather are under the minister of justice, who is appointed by the president.
Constitutional provisions regarding the basic rights of the people are broadly phrased. They refer to freedom of speech and assembly, equality before the law, and the right to own property, but these rights are to be exercised within the framework of the sharia. In 1990 younger members of the recently expanded president's Consultative Council called for the repeal or amendment of Article 38 in the penal code, which allows the jailing or banishment "for any gesture, speech or action that instills malice or disobedience in the minds of Maldivians against lawfully formed government."
The president is elected for a renewable five-year term by the Majlis, or legislature. The election must be formalized through confirmation in a popular referendum. The chief executive is assisted by a cabinet, or Council of Ministers, whose members serve at his pleasure. The post of prime minister, which had existed under the sultan and in the early years of the republic, was eliminated in 1975 by President Ibrahim Nasir because of abuses of the office. Cabinet ministers need not be members of the Majlis. The legislature is unicameral, with members elected for five-year terms by citizens aged twenty-one and above, or appointed by the president. Eight of its forty-eight members are appointed by the president, and the rest are chosen popularly, two from Male and two from each of the nineteen administrative atolls.
Media
Television Maldives
http://www.tvm.gov.mv
The national television channel, TVM, broadcasts nationally, covering news, current affairs and variety of entertainment programs. The second channel, TVM Plus, which Television Maldives started providing in 1994, is a special entertainment channel and is receivable through registered decoders. TVM transmit 18 hours and TVM Plus transmits for 10 hours every day.

Voice of Maldives
http://www.vom.gov.mvAM
The Voice of Maldives, which is the National channel, started broadcasting on AM band at 1458 KHz, Medium wave on December 29, 1981 with a TBC, 05 Kilowatt transmitter from Australia? Now we have replaced the AM services with a state of the art technology transmitter by Harris, USA in July 1995. This development has increased our clear coverage to about 85% of the whole country; however the remaining 15% is covered will be covered via a Satellite downlink connected to low Power FM transmitters and re-broadcasting to the nearby Islands at selected locations nationwide. In this regard, we have already installed stereo FM transmitter at the southern most tips of Maldives, in Addu Atoll and Foahmulah. Now these transmitters are in service. Next in line is Haa dhaalu Kulhudufushi, for this project, we have already assembled the required FM transmitter and is now ready for Installation.
FM on 21 May 1985, Voice of Maldives started its FM broadcasting services in the capital Male, and nearby Islands using a 10 watt low powered mono FM Transmitter with the frequency 104 MHz given as a grant Aid by the UNESCO. The Voice of Maldives added a Power booster to increase the power to 100 Watt, which allowed more coverage area. In same period, Maldives was also becoming famous as a tourist destination, the radio felt the importance of tourism to the economic development of Maldives and began to play a major role in entertaining and providing useful information for foreigners and started expanding its English services which includes current affairs and more music. Currently we have an OMB, 1KW FM Stereo transmitter from Spain running the 89 MHz VOM FM service in Male and nearby islands.
Daily Newspapers
Haveeru Daily
http://www.haveeru.com.mv
Haveeru Daily is the longest serving daily newspaper in Maldives, which marked its 20th anniversary on 1 January 1999. Established on 1 January 1979, Haveeru has excelled with over two decades of journalistic experience.
Aafathis News
http://www.aafathisnews.com.mv
Miadhu News
http://www.miadhu.com

Communication
Dhiraagu
Dhiraagu offers a comprehensive range of fixed, mobile, Internet and data services throughout the Maldives including installation, maintenance and repair of all the services.
Fixed Line ServicesIn 1999, Dhiraagu successfully completed providing fixed line access to all 200 inhabited islands in the country, overcoming almost insurmountable geographical and logistical challenges. Today every inhabitant in the Maldives is within easy walking distance of a telephone. There are over 130 lines per 100 households in Male' and approximately 40 lines per 100 households in other islands with residential telephone service. This equates to 1 telephone per 9 of population nationally and 1 telephone for every 3 persons in the capital - the highest in South Asia.
GSM ServicesThe DhiMobile GSM service was introduced in October 1999. Originally available in the islands in the Male' area, coverage has since been extended to all 88 tourist resorts and more than 105 inhabited islands covering over 73% of the population .Today 1 in 2 adults in the country use a GSM phone.
Dhiraagu offers a number of value added services such as SMS, CallerID,Fixed Line Services GSM Services Fax and Data, Voicemail, FaxMail and Pre-Paid service. GSM International Roaming service is available with over 158 operators in more than 70 countries allowing over 75% of visitors to the Maldives to use their mobile phone in the Maldives.
Internet ServicesDhiraagu introduced Internet service to the Maldives in October 1996, initially via dial-up at up to 28.8kbps. Since then the service has been enhanced continuously, offering customers higher access speeds, multiple access options and reduced cost of Internet usage. Today our customers have a choice of high quality PSTN and ISDN dial-up,dedicated leased connections, ADSL broadband and two-way direct satellite access to suit their requirements and budgets. Public Internet access is available to over 40% of the population through CyberCafes directly operated by Dhiraagu across the country. On a further 60 islands, public Internet access is offered by private parties in partnership with Dhiraagu.
http://www.dhiraagu.com.mv
Wataniya Telecom Maldives
VoiceVoice services are available to all with no set up or monthly fees.
Messaging Voicemail, Text messaging (SMS), Picture messaging (MMS)
RoamingRoaming service allows you to use your mobile services when you travel abroad.
Mobile Internet Allows internet access on your mobile phone. It is an 'always on' service, so you are not paying for dial up connection and can stay connected for as long as you like.
Push to Talk TalkPlan and TalkBusiness customers can enjoy this new service. It's like using the phone as a 'walkie-talkie'. You get this service automatically and there's no setup fee.
http://www.wataniya.mv

Surprise Visit.....

2008-12-30T18:00:00.034+05:30

This was My Surprise Visit to my friend in Illam who then took us to the Life-Time Visit of Darjelling India.............. My Second International Tour.

Where in The world is Illam??
Wishing the surprise to be worth.. Exhausted by the 12 hours of continious Bus Travel.

MOM............I have arrived and I am Alright....Don,t Worry
We gave our Friend a Big Surprise..I had to call Home .You Know Parents,they get Worried So quickly....

Illam with my 0.3 Mega Pixel Camera

Illam was wonderfull and i loved the tea Garden..

My First Jeep-Roof Ride
Now We were on our way to the Bigger Surprise from our Friend Darjelling..........

Finally.........
This picture is of the Bus-Park of darjelling where we arrived bit late.......

Namaste Daju....
In the time of this photo we were tired and frustrated of searching hotel..........

JAI NEPAL........
Thank God...Finally we got Hotel of Nepali owner From Jhapa...... Nepal Is greatand so are Nepali...Dhanyabad...

Jai Nepali!!!!
The owner made us Nepali Dish evenm though we had arrived so late...He was more than happy to met Nepali Fellows. He even gave us a big discount...Yehaaaaaaaa........

Tourists...... Me!!!!!!!
So,Here we are looking at maps.Probably it was my first time looking at maps and planning to visit the places......

Time for...Chal Chainya Chainya!!!!!!!
First we took a train ride...awsome my second train trip....thankyou Pashupatinath.....

Ahh...Meuseum and Zoo...I am not a Child Anymore....
We visited Zoo and saw Tiger for real..Then there was Mountaineering Museum and we went there..It was worth Going....

Rockn In the Rock Garden...

As promised our Hotel Owner took us to the Rock Garden which was the most famous place in Darjelling... Hotel Windamere....

Dont be Mistaken.This is not the Hotel We had Stayed. they said it was the best Hotel of Darjelling...So, I took My picture,maybe sometime i can fool some fools.

Maan ta Mero Nepali Hooo..........

We toook photo with our AdiKabi BhanuBhakta Acharya..... People of Darjeeling had a Big Respect for AdiKabi..

Time to Pray...

We went to the St. Andrew's Church..It was my First Church Visit and was Awsome.We did Prayed and it was our last destination in Darjelling.

GoodBye Darjeeling.........
Never got enough of You and I promise I ll be back One Day....Till Then so Long...

Media in Bhutan

2008-12-30T16:54:00.004+05:30

Bhutan

Bhutan is a small country in South Asia that had a population of about 2 million in 2001. (Official statistics do not include people of Nepalese origin and thus place the count at 800,000.) Nearly 90 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The literacy rate is nearly 42 percent. The four main languages spoken in Bhutan are Dzongkha (the national language and spoken largely in Western Bhutan), English (the language of instruction), Nepalese (with its dialects spoken by close to 1 million people of Nepalese origin in Bhutan), and Sharchopkha (spoken in Eastern Bhutan). The main occupations, which employ 94 percent of the population and account for 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, include agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry.
Journalism is fairly small-scale and new to the country of Bhutan. Bhutan has only one newspaper, one radio station, one television station, and one Internet provider, Druknet, which was started in 1999. The government monitors these enterprises closely, under the guise of preserving culture and tradition, and restricts freedom of speech and the press. Bhutan's only regular publication is Kuensel, a weekly newspaper that is published and controlled by the government. Its circulation is about 10,000, and editions are published in Dzongkha English, and Nepalese. An online version of the newspaper was introduced in 1999. The government ministries regularly monitor the subject content and have the constitutional right to prevent or alter publication of the content. There are no tabloids published in Bhutan, but some Indian and Nepalese tabloids are available.
In 1989, the Bhutan government banned reception of all private television and ordered dismantling of satellite dishes and antennas. It introduced a local television service through the Bhutan Broadcasting Service. In early 2002, the daily programming consisted of about four hours of programs with half of it in Dzongkha and the other half in English. The programs consisted of imported programs from other countries, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation and Doordarshan (India). In 1997 it was estimated that about 11,000 television sets were being used in Bhutan.
Bhutan's one radio station includes one short-wave program and one daily FM broadcast from Thimphu, the national capital. In 1997 it was estimated that there were about 37,000 radios in Bhutan.Bhutan is a traditional country that is slowly modernizing but resists Western influences. In such milieu, the press has focused more on providing information to the people, assuming an objective reporting style, and serving as the long arm of the government.
General election
Bhutan held its first general election on March 24, 2008 for the National Assembly. Two parties were registered by the Election Commission of Bhutan to contest the election: the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party(DPT, for Druk Phuensum Tshogpa), which was formed by the merger of the previously established Bhutan People's United Party and All People's Party and is led by Jigme Y. Thinley, and the People's Democratic Party(PDP). The third political party, the Bhutan National Party (BNP), had its application for the registration cancelled.
Media
Media freedom in Bhutan is completely absent. Even the freedom of expression is not allowed. Since the state bans any form of organizations to exist, institutions working for press freedom is also lack their presence in Bhutan.
The government bars people from criticizing the acts of the government or raising question on Royal family members and King. The Driglam Nam Zha (its so-called dress and language code) and such other traditional laws define any one as terrorist or anti-nationals if found spoken against the government or the royal family members. Right to speech, yet to be clarified, is unlawfully restricted.
Legal provisions
There is no law or rules and regulations regarding press. The government has said it has drafted a new media act but is yet to be made public. The recently drafted constitution mentions only two statements regarding press freedom in the country as basic rights of the people.
Article 7
Fundamental Rights
1. A Bhutanese citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech, opinion and expression.
2. A Bhutanese citizen shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. No person shall be compelled to belong to another faith by means of coercion or inducement.
3. There shall be freedom of press, radio and television and other forms dissemination of information, including electronic.
4. A Bhutanese citizen shall have the right to information.
There is no guarantee that government would censor the news items that are ready for publication or broadcast or telecast. Also the government has not guaranteed that any print or electronic media would not be banned just for publishing news item. Provision like no criticism of the royal family members or writing against the sovereignty of the country would be excuse for the state authority to take actions against media organizations or journalists.
There are various acts like citizenship act 1985 for instance, which control or restrict the state of press freedom in the country.
According National Assembly Rule no. 11, drafted in 1953, every member of the legislature shall have the full right and privilege to express his thought in the Assembly. No rule or law can interfere with the member's freedom of expression.
But citizenship act 1958, amended in 1977, states anyone having acquired Bhutanese citizenship involve in the act against the king or speaking against the royal government or being in association with the people involved in activities against the Royal government shall be deprived of the citizenship. (TA penalty for violation of rule). Similarly, Citizenship Act 1985 says any citizen of Bhutan who has acquired the citizenship at any time, if the person has shown by act or speech to be disloyal in any manner whatsoever to king, country and people of Bhutan, his citizenship will be seized.
State of media
Government owns all three media: the radio, TV and a weekly newspaper. The weekly Kuensel is published in three major languages of the country: Dzongkha, English and Nepali. Government officials censor all the news to be published or broadcasted or telecasted. Even other programs of the radio and television and most of the articles on the newspaper are administered by government. The radio and TV are controlled by Bhutan Broadcasting Services while the Kuensel is run by Kuensel Corporation.
There was no voice for press freedom in the past. In was only in 1990 that freedom of press and right to information was demanded. Bhutan People’s Party demonstrated demanding press freedom in 1990. Most of the other parties formed later also advocated for press freedom.
People working in media in Bhutan receive short term journalism training from Britain, The Netherlands, India and Singapore.
Publication of two weekly newspapers has begun recently. The Bhutan Times started its publication from Thimphu on April 30 while the Bhutan Observer came to the market o June 2, coinciding the coronation ceremony of the king. These two publications have started after king personally called for initiation of private publication in Bhutan in October last year.
A large section of the Bhutanese people feel the need of a strong and independent media houses or any organization working for their right to speech and expression. It is necessary because right to speech is one of the elements of human rights states must guarantee to its citizens.
Since democratic values and people's rights cannot be safeguarded in absence of independent media environment, APFA-Bhutan strives to pave way for institutionalizing a vibrant media working in close co-ordination with the political forces and government bodies. It was long felt that Bhutanese movement should have strong media organization to disseminate information and advocate in a larger sphere. Thus, member of young generation who were deeply concerned about situation of media in Bhutan and having keen interest in journalism formed the association after acquiring various trainings.
Electronic Media
Radio
As of April 2004, BBS FM radio service is available in 15 dzongkhags. Installation of FM transmitter in the rest of the 5 dzongkhags will be completed by the end of the current five year plan.
Radio service (NYAB radio) in Bhutan started in November 1973 in the initiation of youths who formed National Youth Association of Bhutan (NYAB) led by a Royal female member. The station was operational only on Sundays with 30 minutes of news in English and music. The NYAB club office was transformed to announcing studio on weekends and increased to an hour a week after a few weeks’ trial. The 400-watt transmitter was rented from a local telegraph office. The station was called Radio NYAB.
In 1979, the Royal Government recognizing the importance of the radio for development embraced the station under the Ministry of Communications. Then it started three-hour program on every Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday: 1.5 hours in Dzongkha and 0.5 hours each in Nepali (Lhotsamkha), Sarchopkha (Tshangla) and English.
In 1986 Development Support Communication Division (later changed to Development Communication Corporation) was set up to help for the development of media. With the commissioning of a 10kw short-wave transmitter and a small broadcast studio, Radio NYAB was renamed as Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) in the same year. Daily broadcasting was introduced with three hours of programming that reflected the national character. Radio was then controlled by BBS. BBS/DSCD worked jointly under MoC until 1992 when they were transformed to corporation. In the same year UNESCO also provided BBS 10W SW transmitter. The radio transmission reached to most part of the country.
In 1991 radio station relocated to India sponsored new complex with 50w SW transmitter. Since then, its programs reached 30 hours per week. To strengthen the radio service to all parts of the country, government initiated the establishment of FM station merely means for relay of national broadcast. In 1987 local FM stations were set up in Thimphu with the aid of UNESCO. (96 and 98 MHz). In 1989-92 periods DANIDA and UNESCO provided 1.14 million assistance for development of media in Bhutan.
In March 1991 that BBS acquired a permanent seat and a professional look with the commissioning of a 50kw short-wave transmitter station and a studio complex-cum-office block.
In June 2000, BBS introduced FM radio service for Western Bhutan as well with the inauguration of the main FM station at Dobchula and yet another one at Takti in the south. The FM service was extended to central Bhutan in January 2001 and plans are underway to cover the whole country by the end of the ninth five-year plan.
At present broadcast, the radio has 12 hours broadcast service including 1.5 hours traditional music only; 4.5 hours in Dzongkha, and 2 hours each in Nepali (Lhotsamkha), Sarchhopkha and English.
Apart from giving the daily news bulletin in four languages (Dzongkha, Sharchop, Lhotsamkha and English) in radio and in Dzongkha and English on television, BBS devotes 75 percent of its programming on development issues such as new farming methods, health and hygiene, environment preservation, distance education, rural development, women and child care.
Bhutan Broadcasting Service, established in 1973 and given its current name in 1986, operated under the auspices of the Department of Information; it offered thirty hours a week of shortwave radio programming in Dzongkha, Sharchopkha, Nepali, and English. There was daily FM programming in Thimphu and shortwave reception throughout the rest of the nation in the early 1990s. There were also two stations used exclusively for communications with Bhutan's embassies in New Delhi and Dhaka and thirteen stations used by hydrologists and meteorologists.

Television
There were no television stations in Bhutan before the commissioning of national TV in 1999. A 1989 royal decree banned the viewing of foreign television by mandating the dismantling of antennas. The government wanted to prevent Indian and Bangladeshi broadcasts from reaching Bhutan's citizens. Even after the introducing the national TV channels, the government have banned some of the international and Indian TV channels stating they would erode the cultural identity of Bhutan.
Audio-visual programme started in 1981 with DSCD. It made films and documentaries on life, culture and religion (development oriented). But the programme was stopped in 1996. In 1998, a large screen was fixed at the Thimphu stadium to watch world cup through Indian televisions.
The national television service was started in June 2, 1999, that was announced to be established in April 1998. In the initial days, it telecasted one hour a day. The telecast increased to two hours per day from June 2002. The television was established to commemorate the Silver Jubilee reign of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Presently, the television service is available for the residents of Thimphu.
Print media
Kuensel is published every Saturday from Thimphu by the Kuensel Corporation. It is distributed throughout the country by a string of sales agents appointed in all the Dzongkhags, Dungkhags and towns.
Kuensel readers are, generally, people with highly placed social and economic standings within the community and expatriates, posted in diplomatic missions, international organizations and multinational companies.
Bhim Bahadur Rai and Suk Man Rai started the publication of the paper in 1961 in Nepali as a monthly (hand written). From 1964 they used litho. From 1969 printing of the newspaper started in English and Nepali from Kalimpong in India form Moni Printing Press.
In 1974, a press machine was bought and installed in Thimphu after which the paper is printed here. Soon the Japanese technicians prepared Dzongkha letter blocks and the paper started its Dzongkha version as well.
In 1986 Kuensel was reformatted under the same title and also published weekly as Bhutan's only newspaper. Published by the Ministry of Communications' Department of Information, Kuensel had a total circulation in 1988 of 12,500 and was published in Dzongkha, Nepali, and English. Indian and other foreign newspapers also were available. Bhutan's low literacy rate, however, means that the print media does not affect the majority of the population. Oral tradition is very strong, however, and radio broadcasts are widely listened to.
There are around a dozen persons working with the paper as government employees. Secretary at the Ministry of Communication chairs the editorial team.
In 1979, Druk Losel (Quarterly) started in the editorship of Gauri Shankar Adhikari in two languages. After 19 issues in 1983 when an historical article on the relationship between Bhutan and Nepal was published, the publication was banned.
Publications from outside Bhutan attempted to raise voices of dissidents. Political parties, human rights bodies or such other social organizations coordinated the early publications. But due to financial constraints and lack of skilled manpower, all these publications never survived for more than one year.
Publications outside Bhutan attempted to raise voices of dissidents. In 1971-72-Hari Prasad Adhikari published one issue of Ammar Bhutan, and in 1991, he brought out the bulletin with financial support from PFHRB and HUROB from Dalle Aahal in Assam.
He also edited Mukti on the eve of demonstrations in southern Bhutan in 1990 supported by BPP in but all copies of the paper lost on the way to Bhutan.
In 1991, HUROB published Manav Adhikarko Chirharan. From 1 December 1990 SUB brought out Bhutan Focus in Nepali and English but it also closed in 1993 and few issues were printed again in 2001 and 2002.
From 15 March 1991, Bhutani Aawaj was published fortnightly from Birtamode edited by Balaram Poudyal. It was closed after 1995. For almost a decade since 1993, Bhutan Bidhyrthi Chhatra Sangathan published Bhutani Nawa Sandesh from Banaras.
From 1993, PFHRD published Bhutan Observer. It was closed after S. K. Pradhan was arrested in connection to the murder of BPP president R K Budathoki in 2001.
Between 1993 and 1995, Bhutan Review was published by Bhim Subba. Since 1994, Nepali Sahitya Parishad Bhutan (earlier Nepali Bhasha Parishad) has been publishing annual Bhutani Kopila.
For almost five years, AHURA Bhutan published Refugee Post beginning 1995, though its frequency was uncertain. Between, March 96 and December 96, SUB brought out The SUB Bridges (Fortnightly)
In 96 Quarterly publication Dragon Times published by YOB was seen for few times. With support from Mangala Sharma, The Struggle (monthly) was published in 1997-98, edited by Jogen Gazamere (UFD).
DNC publishes Bhutan Today (monthly).
Ammar Bhutan, Mukti, Manav Adhikarko Chirharan, Bhutan Focus, Bhutani Aawaj, Bhutani Nawa Sandesh, Bhutan Observer, Bhutan Review, Bhutani Kopila, Refugee Post, The SUB Bridges, Dragon Times, The Struggle and Bhutan Today are some of the publication seen in exile.
The Shangrila SANDESH began in January 2001, weekly Sandesh in December 2000 and Bhutan Jagaran in November 2000. Editorial team of these papers had received short-term training in various institutions in Nepal. Bhutan Times was seen in market. Naulo Aawaj weekly is another weekly another paper being circulated among the Bhutanese community at present.
Association of Press Freedom Activists publishes The Bhutan Reporter since October 2004.
Online There are very few online news portals that give news on Bhutan. Kuensel has kuenseloneline.com while APFA Bhutan runs www.apfanews.com,bhutantimes.com bhutannewsonline.com,bhootan.org are some of the news site that updates news related to Bhutan published in various other international media.
Bhutan Broadcasting Service (http://www.bbs.com.bt/)National radio and television service of Bhutan operated by the Ministry of Communications that features radio national news bulletins in Dzongkha, Sharchop, Lhotsam and English and television programs mostly devoted to development and agricultural issues. Includes program schedules, audio files of Bhutanese folk songs (.mp3), and commercial codes and rates.
Kuensel Online (http://www.kuenselonline.com)The online edition of Bhutan's national newspaper, with feature stories and a section "About Bhutan" which includes introductions to the country's culture and history, useful links on tourism, currency exchange rates, and the "Millennium Development Goals.
Movie Industries:
Largely isolated and not much exposed to the outside world until recently, Bhutan's dalliance with films began only in 1989 - Gasa Lamai Singye was the first movie made in the local Dzongkha language by Ugyen Wangdi, the pioneer of the country's fledgling cinema.
Bhutan's movie industry is in its infancy - just 89 movies made since 1989 - some of them, however, received rave reviews in the international media and got mainstream awards.
"Last year, Bhutan produced 22 digital films. Digital cinema is the key to Bhutan's movie industry. The Bhutanese audience lapped it up," Wangdi said.
There is just one cinema in Thimphu and seven in all across Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon of about 700,000 people.
The Luger Theatre in Thimphu that was set up in 1969 screens just Bhutanese language films all year round and is booked till next year. It takes nine months of waiting for a local language movie to get it turn for screening in the theatre.
Most of the films have plots based on traditional folklore, legends, culture, and history, although some of the movies made in recent years have the flavour of both Hollywood and Bollywood - with Hindi films and its songs influencing young Bhutanese filmmakers.
Advertisement
Advertisement is rooted in commercialism and needsa proper directionThe government has banned billboard advertising, commercial signboardsin the capital has been standardised and people are tired of junkparty ads filling their cell mailbox.As advertisement culture slowly picks up in Bhutan the question beingasked is whether there are any rules and regulations to govern it."Proper guidelines are necessary," said the managing director ofBhutan Broadcasting Service, Mingbo Dukpa. "Advertisement is apowerful medium and can have a very strong impact on the people."Apart from an "advertisement code of practice" for television cableoperators in the licensing terms and conditions, other advertisersdon't have enough references on advertisement codes. "There is noadvertisement rules for the print and broadcast media as of now," saidJigme Wangdi, senior communication officer of Bhutan Infocom and mediaauthority (BIMA).According to the "advertisement code of practice" for the televisioncable operators, advertisements should not glorify violence, incitepeople to crime, project a derogative image of women, promote tobaccoand other intoxicants, should not be indecent, vulgar, repulsive orsuggest repulsive themes and should not jeopardise national prioritiesamong others.However, even in the absence of any central regulations, otheradvertisers have also developed over the years their own code ofethics and they don't advertise anything that has negative socialimpacts. The Bhutanese print media, the BBS and B-mobile follow theirown advertisement ethics.
Mobile
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Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1960)

2008-12-30T16:24:00.002+05:30

A true story about a young American Indian girl left behind by her people when they move from their remote island home to the mainland. This subdued book is about how she survives alone for years, but of all her survival skills, the most important thing she learns is how to cope with loneliness.
When I say it is true, I mean the bare bones of the story are true. For when The Lost Woman of San Nicolas, as she became known, was finally rescued after eighteen years, she could speak only in sign language. All her own people had long since disappeared. This story, then, written as though she is telling us in her own words, owes a lot to the writer’s imagination. There is an Author’s Note at the back of the book to tell you the true facts about this story.
Karana’s tribe number more than forty when this story begins, and they live quite comfortably on a small island. They forage for their food, mainly from the sea, but also roots and seeds from the land. Occasionally they are visited by hunters from the far north, (the Aleutian Islands of Alaska), who come to camp on their island for a few weeks and hunt the sea otter for their pelts. This is where the disaster begins, for the hunters deal unfairly with the islanders and in the ensuing battle most of the menfolk of the tribe are wiped out. After that there really are not enough people left to live successfully on the island, to share the work load, and so one man is sent to fetch help. Eventually, a ship comes to take everyone away to the mainland.
Things would have gone differently if only Karana’s young brother, Ramo, had not forgotten his fishing spear and gone back to fetch it. The rest of the tribe, including Karana, board the ship in bad weather and rising seas. In an astonishing act of bravery, when Karana looks back to the cliff to see Ramo left behind, she jumps overboard and swims back to him. Thus, there are two left behind when the ship sails.
Now, although they are alone, these two children are at home, and they are perfectly well able to feed themselves. They simply continue foraging, mainly for abalone fish. At first, of course, they expect the ship to come back to pick them up, and every day they look out for it on the horizon.
It may be home, but it is dangerous. The island is roamed by a pack of wild dogs, there are poisonous and paralyzing fish in the sea, and a huge herd of sea elephants on the shore. Ramo does not survive for long, and after that Karana is alone with the empty, whispering huts of her village.
There is no denying, this is a very sad story. I think you will find Karana’s resourcefulness fascinating, and her loneliness excruciating.

You ll Neva Walk Alone……..

2008-12-30T16:19:00.005+05:30

When you walk through a strom

Hold your head up high.

And don’t be afraid of the dark.

At the and of a strom,

Is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind.

Walk on through the rain

Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on,

walk on With hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone………….

Signs of Dying

2008-12-30T16:18:00.002+05:30

Appreciating the preciousness of human life, based on the understanding of one’s body constantly changing, ageing, moving toward death since birth and the uncertainty of life helps us appreciate life and prepare for death. It is natural for one’s body to decay especially when accelerated by disease processes. In the final stage when life-sustaining systems begin to shut down, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual changes may occur over weeks, days or hours. Each person’s experience is unique, but there are some general similarities.
The following is a very simple account of the normal changes that may occur in the final stage of living, commonly called “dying”, with some suggested ways of caring. It is intended to help the dying and their loved ones to understand and be prepared for these changes, in order to provide appropriate safe support and comfort holistically.

Physical Weakness / Lack of Energy / Loss of Interest in Everyday Things
As the body’s systems weaken less oxygen is available to the muscles, the life force weakens, and more effort is needed to complete everyday tasks and one may become embarrassed, discouraged, ambivalent, depressed, irritable and/or just naturally become more interested in matters that seem more important: matters of the mind, heart and spirit. This is often a time of self-examination, of questioning, of looking for the meaning of life.
Caregivers can best help by assisting the person with physical tasks, while being sensitive to their feelings, maintaining their dignity and attending to their comfort as much as possible, especially with regard to symptom control and protection from injury. Love and humour can take the tension away from a stressful situation. Laughter opens the heart and can free one to see past appearances and circumstances, leaving the burden of self and entering into a instant oneness with another, that is blissfully rewarding. Psychological and spiritual support means being along side as a good friend: patient, non-judgmental, compassionate, allowing the person’s own wisdom to evolve. When regrets appear, see them as lessons learned, encourage memories of meaningful events and practice rejoicing, by seeing the benefits of the kind actions of one’s life, allowing whatever faith, hope and love the person has, to exist and develop freely.

Withdrawal from Family and Friends / Increased Sleepiness / Coma
Neither family, friends nor wealth can be taken with us when we leave this world. Much of the packing it all up and leaving it behind is a solo job and one needs time and privacy to do it. Visitors can be very exhausting and the person may feel they have to entertain their guests even if they can’t get up out of bed. Too many visitors one day will often result in the person being more tired and/or more withdrawn the next day. Sometimes the person may sleep more, be difficult to arouse or uncommunicative. This may be due to disease processes, medication, or the person’s desire to withdraw from social contact. Simply being a loving presence near the person, holding their hand, sending loving thoughts, silently praying, meditating, just being there for them provides a comforting, safe and peaceful atmosphere that facilitates the person’s inner work. The caregiver should try to respect the person’s wishes and be aware of what personal desires come up in their own mind and how these can be addressed without disturbing the mind of the dying. Be careful of what you say over their body while the person is asleep or unconscious, they may hear you and it could upset them. Many people who have recovered from a coma (a state where there is no response to voice or touch stimuli, though eyes may still be open) have reported being aware of what others said and even thought in their presence.
Random jerks or twitches can be due to dreams or nightmares, you can reassure them with your kind tone of voice and/or a gentle touch on their hand or arm. The dying are very sensitive to what is communicated by the caregiver’s body, speech and mind and the caregiver can become more aware of reactions and messages from the person by watching and listening. The eyes, facial expressions, and breathing changes often indicate what the person is feeling or thinking. The reason why communication is possible on this level and why you can trust your deepest intuition is because the basic nature of every being is pure and knowing, as Christians may say God-like or as Buddhists say having all pervasive, indestructible wisdom nature. Awake or asleep this is always present and available if one is relaxed, open and receptive, but it is much more familiar and easy for those who are habituated to this awareness through meditation practice. The depth of one’s spiritual practice is communicated by its own power and has remarkable benefits for others. Stripped of dogma and doctrine, reputation and position, sex, age, and relationship, leaving one’s ’self’ to enter nakedly with no agenda, into unity with the person, even for a brief moment liberates both parties from the bondage of duality temporally and is profoundly comforting.

Loss of Appetite
Food is a fuel that helps sustain life. As the digestive system gets weaker, food may become more of a discomfort than an enjoyment, some medications may change the tastes of food, and finally the energy required to process the food becomes greater than the energy derived it. Any of these may produce a loss of appetite. Eating habits change. The person may become overwhelmed by a “normal size” meal. He/she may take a few mouthfuls of their “favourite” meal and feel full. Small attractively presented meals may tempt them. But consider who is getting the satisfaction - family and friends who want to nourish their loved one, so that the person can get better and live longer? It’s often the hardest thing for the family to face; but the refusal to feed the body is not a refusal for nourishment. It is a sign that priorities have changed to nourishing the soul/spirit/mind. Forcing the person to eat or making them feel guilty if they don’t, only isolates and distances them even further. The person approaching death needs to know that it is OK not to eat. Respect and acceptance brings people closer together which comforts the dying person and the caregiver too.

Difficulty Swallowing
As the swallowing reflex weakens, swallowing becomes difficult. It may become frightening for the person to attempt to eat or drink or the person may be slipping into unconsciousness. It is best to offer very small amounts (half a teaspoon) and observe the throat to see if swallowing has taken place. Tolerance of food generally progresses from solid to soft to liquids (soups and dietary supplements), to ice chips and spooned or sucked water. It is safer to feed a person who is upright, but if the person is used to eating in an incumbent position, it is generally easier to swallow if their head is kept straight, not turned to the side. The sucking reflex seems to last a long time as the caregiver will see when attempting to clean the person’s mouth or teeth. Mouth care is important for comfort and dignity. Medications can be crushed and capsules opened and mixed with jam, jelly, yoghurt or like foods. Do not crush time-release or long acting medications. Discuss with your nurse or doctor any problems with medications; alternative medications or modes of delivery are available. Do not give food or liquids to a person who is unconscious. It may cause the person to choke or to inhale the foreign matter.

Confusion
The level of awareness and cognition can change frequently and unexpectedly, due to many causes (i.e. disease processes, tiredness, medication). When a person becomes confused, there can be a decrease of oxygen to the brain and they may not recognise familiar people, places, the time of day or year etc. or they may hear voices or see visions. Do not negate what they say or argue with them. This is their personal reality, which can be a pleasant comforting experience for the person and could also be a sign that the person’s mind is peaceful or joyful with happy expectation. But if their experience upsets or disturbs them, gently touch or stroke their arm or hold their hand and speak calmly with a soft reassuring voice and remind them of who you are, where they are, what day it is etc. Aromatherapy and their favourite music or chanting of their faith, is also helpful.

Restlessness
A person may become restlessness and make repetitive motions like picking at the bed linen, their clothing or the air. This can be a sign of less oxygen available in the brain or of being distressed due to having pain, nausea, constipation or a full bladder or could be due to being confused or anxious about something. Or if the person is throwing or kicking bed covers off even in a cool room, it can be the first stage of the death process when one feels like being buried under a great weight. Before rushing in to do something about it, be calm and still. Observe and listen with your mind and heart to what the person could need. Do not try to interfere with their restless motions but protect from injury and check out the physical side first. Pain doesn’t conform to schedules. After the physical problems are controlled, by using a soothing voice, remind them of their goodness and virtues, along with music, aromatherapy or reciting the person’s favourite spiritual practice may help calm and reassure them. Likewise one can distract the person’s mind away from the disturbing thought or nightmare even if the person is unconscious by verbally describing a favourite place or special experience. And even simply by giving the person assurance that it is OK ‘to let go’, could address the real problem that the person is unable to articulate.
Restlessness can also be a sign of spiritual crisis which needs urgent attention, not waiting for the minister or religious person although they could of course be called to attend, but there is no time to lose, one needs to know what the dying person believes or what prayers or meditations practices that they do and also to remind them of the positive things that they have done in their life, remind them of their faith, their heaven or Amitabha pure land, recite these prayers etc for them and whether the person has religious belief or no faith, he or she can be encouraged to generate universal love and to feel and be that love (forgiving oneself and all others and to generate love and good-will for all without exception). Universal Love replaces fear with calm and confidence.

Elimination
As the person gets weaker and is no longer able to get out of bed, the muscles that control the bowel and bladder may relax and “incontinence” or involuntary loss of urine or faeces may occur. Often the person will feel embarrassed and/or may awaken if asleep. Attend to them with dignity and respect and avoid exposing their private parts to others. Its important to keep the skin clean and dry or the skin could develop a rash or open sores and cause more discomfort. Use plastic gloves and soap and water or a disposable skin wipe. Often when a person needs a bowel movement they will get grumpy, irritable or restless. It’s a good idea to keep a record of the bowel movements to tell the nurse or doctor. One can’t expect a normal daily bowel motion but too many days between eliminations can signal a problem. However, with little food intake there is less reason for a bowel motion.
As the kidneys shut down and the skin takes on more elimination work; the person may experience itching over different parts of their body and also combined with increased sweating from failing thermal regulators it is difficult to provide comfort. Different things work for different people: some like warm bed baths, others cool tepid sponging, or even a cool compress to the forehead and pulse areas can cool down and soothe. Tea tree oil, calendula or lavender oils or other commercial products can give relief, but usually strong perfumes are not tolerated. Change the bed linen if soiled with sweat. This is a good opportunity to give a back rub and reposition the person into a more comfortable position.

Body Temperature and Colour
Mechanisms that control the body’s ability to control its temperature will start failing. The skin may sweat and still be very cool or may be hot. The person may kick off the bed linen but be cold to touch. As the heart becomes weaker, circulation fails to adequately reach the hands and feet and they will become cool to touch and the nails maybe bluish, while the arms and legs maybe pale, grey, mottled or purplish. At this time it’s best to follow the wishes of the dying to keep them comfortable even if it’s against reason (like trying to keep a person covered when they keep kicking the blankets off). However it’s important to avoid drafts that may cause the body’s temperature to fall too fast and cause shivering. Normally, repositioning is advised every 3-5 hrs, but closely monitor whether it becomes too painful to turn or if one position is not tolerated. If possible give extra pain relief before a necessary turn (like when cleaning incontinence). If close to death it is not necessary to turn for circulation. It is only necessary to turn the patient if it helps breathing or provides more comfort. Always observe how well a person settles into a new position and if they don’t settle, try another position, or gently return them to the previous position, and/or give pain relief. This is a difficult judgement that can be a great challenge for the caregiver because things are always changing. One position favoured one day will not necessarily be tolerated the next day. A loose sheet from the shoulders to the knees (called a “draw sheet”), under the person’s body will help turn or lift the person up the bed (One person on each side of the bed, holding their side of the sheet, rolled up close to the body).

Breathing
If breathing is difficult with or without oxygen being given, sometimes a fan blown over the body to give the sensation of being in fresh air, combined with the mental suggestion of visualising sitting on a beach in the wind or the top of a high hill can give relief. Keeping the head elevated will help breathing, be careful to maintain support of the lower back. A lubricant on the lips will help prevent cracking. And mouth care with mouth swabs can help keep the tongue and mouth moist and less dirty. Although this will not be necessary or may not be tolerated by someone close to death.
A change in breathing pattern is significant during the dying process. When the exhalation (out-breath) is longer than the inhalation (in-breath) this is a sign that the dying process has begun (even weeks before actual death). Next the breathing becomes irregular, although irregular breathing can occur at any time when someone has a lung condition that causes shortness of breath. Closer to death, the breathing involves the whole rib cage and is fast (up to 30-50 breaths per minute) mostly through the mouth and then may pause for even 10-15 seconds before the next in-breath. This period of no breathing is called “apnoea”. This pattern (called Cheyne-Stokes breathing) of shallow quick breaths followed by spaces of no breathing can continue for a few days, hours or minutes before the person actually stops breathing, but rarely does a person improve from this stage.
There may be a rattling noise (often called the “death rattle”) at the back of the throat, caused by the accumulation of saliva because the person can no longer swallow. This is often distressing for the helpers but it doesn’t seem to bother the dying person. The pool of secretions is too far down the throat to be suctioned. Sometimes turning the person with their head to the side can help drain the secretions from their mouth. Dying people breath better when they are not completely lying on their side, as a health person would sleep. Lying towards the right side is favoured because the heart is not obstructed and according to Buddhist medicine it supports a happy peaceful mind, by blocking the right channel. The Buddha passed away lying on his right side. Buddhist scriptures say to block the right nostril with the ring finger, face resting on the right hand. But if there is a medical reason or the person just can’t tolerate the right side, comfort is the priority, to keep the person’s mind happy.

Unexpected Alertness and Increased Energy
Often a day or two or even a few hours before death, the person has a surge of energy, wakes up, becomes alert, can sometimes eat or talk and can spend some quality time with loved ones. This is a very special time for final spiritual practices and mental preparations, which can be shared with loved ones if it is the dying persons wish. This is a very precious time because it normally doesn’t last long, as most people become unconscious (unresponsive) hours or days before they stop breathing.

Signs of Imminent Death
Eyes have glassy fixed stare with large pupilsPasty grey, or blue greyish colour present especially on lips, hands and feet Hands and feet can be coldJaw open, breathing through mouth very rapid or very slow (often with rattle) with pauses of 20-50 seconds between breaths Unresponsive to voice or pain.
It is most important not to do or say anything that might disturb or anger the person, like speaking abruptly, arguing, crying, rough handling; maintain a peaceful atmosphere with people praying, meditating or chanting according to the dying person’s wishes or as instructed by their spiritual guide/teacher. Any supporters can generate limitless universal or devotion in their hearts and the wish for the dying person to be released from suffering with this love or devotion/faith and become unified with love, with god or with their source of inspiration and virtue.

Clinical Death
No breathing (chest does not move)No heart beat (no pulse)Pupils large, do not changeSometimes release of bowel or bladder
According to Buddhism, death is a process with stages: after conception, formation proceeds from subtler to grosser, but at death there is dissolution from grosser to subtler. The four elements: earth (hard substances of the body), water (fluids), fire (heat), wind/air (energy, movement) degenerate and dissolve in sequence and there are external signs and internal visions at each stage. In the final stage of death all the gross consciousnesses dissolve into the emptiness of clear light, where with previous training one can discover the fundamental innate reality. Because of this continuity of mind moments, the state of mind at the time of death is vitally important, it’s most important to die with a calm and peaceful mind; with strong spiritual/ positive thoughts prevailing.
Friends and family can best help the dying continue their journey after “clinical death” by generating calm, accepting, supportive thoughts for the deceased, each other and expanding into altruistic, universal good-will and love through their prayers and meditations. Buddhist masters recommend maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and if possible allowing the death process to proceed undisturbed, by not touching the body until all the heat has left (indicating that the most subtle consciousness has left the body). If the body needs to be cleaned or moved it is advised to touch the top of the head first so that the consciousness abiding in the heart chakra becomes aware of this and leaves the body through the crown. Beginning with the facial muscles, “Rigor Mortis” (Latin for stiffness of death) develops, then wanes from 3 hrs to 36 hrs depending on muscle mass and environmental conditions, (cold retards rigor mortis) with a maximum stiffness at 12-24 hrs. If there is not too much disease, physical damage or medication in the body, a small amount of blood leaves from the nose and a small amount of white fluid leaves from the sexual organ, which is a certain sign that the most subtle consciousness has left. This can take up to 3 days and even longer in documented cases of very accomplished meditators. According to Buddhist texts, death is the separation of body (physical form) and “mind” formless, clear, luminous and knowing. (Only the most subtle level of mind transmigrates.) After the consciousness leaves, the body will soon begin to smell from the decomposing process and all that is left is a corpse.

Most Influential Media in Nepal

2008-12-30T15:39:00.004+05:30

Nepal’s heterogeneous national identity, its faltering sense of citizenship, and the lack of strong civic culture provide a basis why public-oriented journalism could be an asset in the process of democratization. The examination and evaluation of an arduous history of democracy in this developing nation sets out to identify clusters of public problems, opportunities and the goals of the community of people living in the Nation. The Media could set out to spell out some techniques for actually doing public-awareness focused on an assortment of agendas of the nation. The Media can really emphasize the pragmatic value of public-orientation in a developing, struggling democracy.

If innovation and novelty are things to be cherished, then Nepal, a developing nation in South Asia, does not seem to despise experimentation of new ideas. But the question remains if innovations and novelty have brought any substantial change in the democratic landscape of this great country.
We can agree that in the past decade, Nepali journalism, too, has seen innovations. The few positive instances in rural journalism and community radio projects, however, remain overshadowed by a number of problems that confront the local press as well as the public. Although, as one veteran journalist put it, like “a beacon atop the Himalayas,” the efforts of Nepalese journalists might have “shone into the lives of people there and in surrounding countries as well,” (Koirala, 1999, October 6). The Nepali press has not still done as much as it could have in covering issues of public concerns in the local level.
During the last decade the FM Radio media in particular has flourished; the numbers of FM radios has shot up exponentially. These radios are actively shaping the nature of Nepal’s public discourse, and helping to form the collective imagination of the country. If we go to the starting phase then the restoration of democracy have greatly influenced the development of radio in Nepal. Radio Sagarmatha, Nepal’s first independent radio got license in 2054 B.S. then Nepal saw true democratization in the field of radio broadcasting. Radio as a mass medium has great scope in Nepal. It could be helpful in overcoming Nepal’s geo- physical hazards. It can play a vital role for long distance dissemination of information. Radio medium would be more effective in arising development consciousness among the people of the nation. It can stand for the educational, socio-economical as well as cultural advancement of country. The scope of radio in our country is bi-directional yet to be explored widely by us.
In Nepal the large number of people is still unable to use the print media. The illiteracy spread over the country is the barrier. There is question of purchasing power because you have to pay for every issue of newspapers and magazines. The cost of television and internet is very high and it is even not spread all over the territory of the nation. The ill transportation system discourages the distribution of print media and decreases the people’s access. The lack of electricity also restricts the use of television or internet. Thus radio medium is the only alternative for the people. Its easiness of being used while doing other works is also notable. There are various other reasons that depict radio as the most suitable mass medium for Nepal.
Nepal has been entered to the new era of radio. The later days are witnessing rapid growth of various radio stations in Nepal. Both commercial and the community broadcasting are blossoming these days.
Out of the 22 independent radio stations now operating in Nepal, four can be called community stations. The others are referred to as commercial stations but most of them have strong public service contents in their programming. Nepal’s National Broadcasting Act does not provide clear distinction between commercial and community stations. The community radio stations are identified by their ownership and the power of the transmitters they use. Since license fees are based on the transmitter’s capacity, from Rs. 50,000 for using a 100 watt transmitter to Rs.200, 000 for using a 500 watt transmitter, the communities prefer to use low power (100 to 200 watts) transmitters since they have very limited financial resources. All of the private stations are on the FM band since the law specifies that private groups can operate radio stations only on the FM band.

Of the four community radio stations one is located in Kathmandu and the other three are in western Nepal. Radio Sagarmatha was established as a community radio with a 100 watt transmitter. But since it has been providing its service to listeners in the whole Kathmandu Valley, along with six other commercial stations, its role has gradually changed from that of a community station to a popular public service station. It has been constantly expanding its programs, in terms of time and diversity, and because of this expanded role it decided to increase its transmitter’s power from 100 watts to 500 watts. The other community radio stations are: 1. Radio Madanpokhara which is located in Palpa District of Western Nepal. It is owned and operated by the Village Development Committee of Madapokhara. 2. Lumbini FM is located at Manigram which is close to the industrial and commercial town of Butwal, also in Western Nepal. It is owned and operated by a cooperative formed by local entrepreneurs and journalists. 3. Swargadwari FM is located in the town of Ghorai, the headquarters of Dang District in Western Nepal. It is the newest among the community stations and has just started its test transmissions.
Of the private commercial stations there six in Kathmandu, four in Pokhara (a tourist town in Western Nepal), one in Bharatpur (Synergy FM) to the South of Kathmandu, one in Hetauda (Radio Mankamana), one in Itahari (Saptakoshi FM) in Eastern Nepal, one in the industrial town of Biratnagar (Koshi FM) and the re-transmitting station of Kantipur FM at Bhedetar in Eastern Nepal. Metro FM owned and operated by the Kathmandu Municipality, the environmental station in the process of being set up and owned by an environment NGO (SEF) and the Spiritual FM (also in the process of being established) are three stations which have definite target audiences and have a public service motive.
There are at least 25 applications pending with the Government. No licenses have been issued in the past few months.
As already described above four of the existing 22 stations are owned and managed by local communities. Radio Madanpokhara is owned by the Village Development Committee, the lowest rung of the government structure. Radio Lumbini and Swargadwari are owned by local cooperatives and Radio Sagarmatha is owned by Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists. Among the 25 applications yet to be reviewed by the government many of them are for community stations. In most cases local individuals have set cooperatives and then applied for licenses. However, in all cases there are broad-based broadcasting committees that oversee the work of the stations and are involved in making policies and deciding on programming.
The first two community stations in Nepal, Radio Sagarmatha (set up in 1997) and Radio Madanpokhara (set up in 1999) were financed through IPDC (UNESCO) grants. They have since then been supporting themselves both through donor assistance for specific projects and through their own income from advertising and sponsored programms. Both are now largely self-supporting. Lumbini FM at Manigram was set up by a cooperative with an initial investment of US$10,000 raised from among the members of the cooperative. Since then they have expanded their facilities both through their own income from advertising and sponsorship and a grant from DANIDA to set up a second studio and to buy a new transmitter. Swargadwari FM in Dang, too was set up by a cooperative with their own money but DANIDA provided the initial expenses to buy transmitting and studio equipment. They seem confident they will be self-supporting once they go on the air with their regular programmes. Finance has not been the main problem with the community radio movement in Nepal. Many communities that have applied for licenses plan to raise their own investment money, and in some cases, they have already done so. There are several donors who realize the value of community broadcasting in a country like Nepal and ready to offer assistance in setting up community stations. The real bottleneck is in the licensing process. Even though the process is very clear in the National Broadcasting Act and the National Broadcasting Regulations, the government has failed to promptly review the applications and grant licenses where the pre-requisites have been met.
It is difficult to say exactly how much it costs to set up a community radio station since a lot depends on the local circumstances. From our own experience we have found that a station like Radio Sagarmatha which serves a population of over a million people requires more than US$30,000 to set up the station. The operating costs are also relatively high. A really rural station like Radio Madanpokhara was set up and fully equipped with less than US$20,000. Based on these experiences we figure it will cost US$15,000 to make a rural-based station fully operational while an urban-based station will cost about US$30,000.
But, it must be remembered that community radio can be set up and broadcast with much less since all it takes is a transmitter and a few microphones to go on the air with local programms. What is required is the motivation and enthusiasm of the local community to use the medium.
In all cases there has been some local financing. While some received initial funding from UNESCO or DANIDA, there were others that raised money locally both to set up and operate their stations. In the case of the Manigram station, they have so much advertising that they are no longer worried about financing. Radio Madanpokhara has saved enough money to money property and building a new structure to house a studio and offices. Swargadwari FM has raised enough money to operate the station; donor money was used to buy equipment. Madanpokhara holds period meetings of the community to discuss how more resources can be mobilized to make the station sustainable. There is some advertising revenue in all cases. These stations, not being commercial, have a policy to broadcasting limited number of advertising messages and are more selective in the type of advertisements to be accepted by the station.

Surprisingly, there has not been much interference from the government. One of the conditions imposed at the time granting the license is to broadcast Radio Nepal’s main news, which all stations do. Recently, the independent stations received a letter from the government to use 25% of their time in broadcasting programms of Radio Nepal. The stations decided not to do it and the Minister of Information and Communication claimed he was unaware of such a letter. On the whole the stations are quite independent. What is sad is that the government is not issuing licenses on a continuing basis.

Fear of misuse in insurgency is only an excuse for not granting licenses to operate community radio stations. In Latin America where there are thousands of community radio stations, there has not been a case of such stations being taken over or misused by insurgents. In the Philippines where there are many community radio stations, even in the area most affected by insurgencies, the radio stations continue to operate and serve their communities. Insurgents are not interested in local stations; they would rather capture government stations which are better endowed and have wider reach. Besides, insurgents are often members of communities that operate the stations and would, therefore, like to see the station continue to inform and entertain the community. In Nepal, none of the stations have become the targets of the Maoist insurgency even though the stations exist in some of the most sensitive areas. Frankly, the flow of information that local radio stations generate is the best safeguard against insurgency. Local stations are the most effective means of promoting democratic education.
It is true that unscrupulous politicians could try to hijack such stations with their own political agenda. But there are enough safeguards to prevent this from happening. First, the legal framework should provide the initial safeguards. In the case of Nepal, the National Broadcasting Act clearly states that private radio stations should not be used for a political purpose; rather it should be a medium for the education and entertainment of the people. Second, the broad-based broadcasting committee which the community appoints to oversee the work of the station should be so balanced that no individual or party can hijack the station. Third, since the stations are on the FM band, they are able to reach only the members of the community who react promptly to any attempt by politicians to impose their agenda. There was a piece of news a few weeks ago which spoke about a Maoist radio station in the mid-western hills. It did not specify where exactly the station was and what it broadcast. There has not been any other information to corroborate the published news item.
Sagarmatha has been running since 1997 and it has been able to establish itself as a free, independent and high credible station. Since most of the private radio stations are of commercial nature, Radio Sagarmatha has the distinction of being the only public service stations that could survive the competition. There several problems that the station has faced. First, how to survive with limited advertising and more educational service-oriented programmes. Second, how retain creative and dynamic journalists and producers in a competitive world. Two such producers are working at the BBC in London. Third, how to learn management techniques (of running radio stations) on a continuing basis. Fourth, how to create a marketing strategy and a dynamic marketing team in a small, low-cost station. Finally, how to motivate volunteers who could produce programmes without posing a burden on the limited resources.
Sustainability is a topic that always comes up when there is a discussion on community radio stations. In the Philippines where there are many community radio stations that have been operating for a number of years. The question of sustainability comes up because many such stations have been set up through grants by donors with the initial misgivings that the communities would not be able to manage the stations once the support is withdrawn. The very fact that most of the stations are running, many of them are doing very well and some have even saved enough to expand their facilities and services confirms our belief that community radio can become fully sustainable. But, to be able to do so, the community must be intimately involved in the planning, establishment and operation of the station. Once the people feel that it is their station, that they must run it, and that it must continue to serve the community, the station will become sustainable. Any outside support should be limited to purchase of new equipment and training in techniques and management.
When we have many stations, there will be some which will do very well, some will manage to exist, while a few may even close down. This is a fact of life we must accept. But, looking at the present status of community radio in Nepal there is every reason to expect the existing stations to become fully sustainable.

2008-12-30T15:39:00.000+05:30

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

2008-12-29T16:42:00.001+05:30

No Communist icon has filled so many capitalist coffers as Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Youthful look of that Latin American revolutionary leader, forever preserved by his martyrdom, as well as total irrelevance of his questionable ideas and revolutionary methods in post-Cold War world, turned him into the most convenient icon for rebellious youths in developed Western countries. His face is ubiquitous thanks mostly to the T-shirts made in Third World sweatshops by multinational corporations – the very embodiment of evil Che Guevara tried to fight. There are, however, better ways to pay respect to this great and controversial historical icon, and one of them is THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, 2004 biographical drama directed by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles.

The film deals with the event that preceded Che's revolutionary career. It starts in 1952 Buenos Aires where Ernesto "Fuser" Guevara (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), 23-year old medical students a semester short of graduation decides to spend few months travelling across South America with his best friend, 29-year old biochemist Alberto Granado (played by Rodrigo De la Serna). They start with an old motorcycle they would have to ditch and continue on foot. Their path leads them through Argentina, Chile and, ultimately Peru. Along the way they experience all kinds of adventures, but young Guevara is becoming less thrilled with the adventure and more affected with the poverty, injustice and oppression he had witnessed in various countries. Two of them finally come to volunteer as physicians in leper colony where Guevara's idealism and political ideas start to take shape.

For most of the viewers, regardless of their political beliefs, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES is a journey worth taking.

Lost For Words

2008-10-20T18:23:00.000+05:30

I was spending my time in the doldrums

I was caught in the cauldron of hate
I felt persecuted and paralyzed
I thought that everything else would just wait
While you are wasting your time on your enemies
Engulfed in a fever of spite
Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades
Like shadows into the night

To martyr yourself to caution
Is not going to help at all
Because there'll be no safety in numbers
When the Right One walks out of the door

Can you see your days blighted by darkness?
Is it true you beat your fists on the floor?
Stuck in a world of isolation
While ivy grows over the door

So I open my door to my enemies
And I ask could we wipe the slate clean
But they tell me to please go fuck myself
You know you just can't win

Osho : His Life & Work

2008-10-11T18:23:00.002+05:30

Most of us live out our lives in the world of time, in the memories of past and anticipation of future. Only rarely do we touch the timeless dimension of the present-in moments of sudden beauty, or a sudden danger, in meeting with the lover or with the surprise of the unexpected.
Very few people step out of the world of time and mind, its ambitions and competitiveness, and begin to live in the world of timeless. And of those who do, only a few have attempted to share their experience. LaoTzu, Buddha, Bodhidharma, .... or more recently, George Gurdjieff, Raman Maharshi, J. Krishnamurti- they are thought by their contemporaries to be eccentrics or mad man; after their death they are called "Philosophers".
And in time they become legends- not flesh-and-blood human beings, but perhaps mythological representations of our collective wish to go beyond the smallness and trivia, meaninglessness of our everyday life.
Osho is one who has discovered the door to living His life in timeless dimension of the present - He has called Himself a "true existentialist" - and he has devoted his life to provoking others to seek the same door, to step out of the world of past and future and discover for themselves the world of eternity.
Osho was born in Kuchwada, Madya Prades, India on December 11, 1931. From His earliest childhood , he was a rebellious and independent spirit, insisting on experiencing the truth for Himself rather than acquirng the knowledge and beliefs given by others.
After His enlightenment at the age of 21, Osho completed His academic studies and spent several years teaching philosophy at the University of Jabalpur. Meanwhile, He traveled throughout India giving talks, challenging orthodox religious leaders in public debate, questioning traditional beliefs, and meeting people form all walks of life. He read extensively, everything he could find to broaden his understanding of the belief systems and psychology of contemporary man. By the late 1960''s Osho had begun to develop his unique Dynamic Mediation techniques. Modern man, he said, is so burdened with the out-mooded traditions of and the anxieties of modern-day living that he must go through deep cleansing process before he can hope to discover the thoughtless, relaxed state of meditation.
In the early 1970''s, the first westerners began to hear of Osho. By 1974, a commune had been established around Him in Poona, India, and the trickle of visitors from the West was soon to become a flood. In the course of His work Osho had spoken on virtually every aspect of development of human consciousness. He has distilled the essence of what is significant to the spiritual quest of the contemporary man, based not on intellectual understanding, but tested against his own existantial experience.
He belongs to no tradition- "I am a beginning of a totally new religious consciousness ", he says. "Please don''t connect me with the past-it is not even worth remembering." His talks to disciples and seeks from all over the world have been published in more than 600 volumes, and translated to over 30 languages.
Osho left his body on Jan 19th, 1990
His commune in Nepal continues to be the spiritual growth center attracting many international visitors who come to participate in its meditation or just to experience being in Buddha field.

People Are Strange

2008-10-06T19:00:00.000+05:30

People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strangeFaces come out of the rain
When you're strangeNo one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange

Death, does it help us live?

2008-08-02T09:31:00.000+05:30

We often take our lives for granted especially when we're young. We think we're going to live forever. But, from one moment to the next, nobody knows what will happen. A person could be alive and well one moment and dead the next, this shows the value of life and the uncertainties of death. Death is the “great unknown,” and that's why it's so frightening. Also, we perceive the inevitability of death long before it happens, which can be worrying, even tormenting. This fear and suffering keeps us from thinking seriously about death as it impedes our happiness. We need to know how to do this, how to live in freedom, not being imprisoned by the future and not being carried away by things in the present. When we can live our daily life deeply and genuinely, we begin to feel free and are able to live; we can see the true nature of life, we arrive at a great freedom with in our self and freedom is the essence of happiness. All of us are equal as far as life and death are concerned; we are all going to die. So it is very equal, death will happen to everybody. Everyone has to die however, before we die, can we live properly? Properly in a sense living and enjoying life, not being sucked in by our surroundings and thoughts. I am determined to live properly until I die. If we are going to die, then we have to live the best we can. If we don’t live the best we can why should we live? You are given an extraordinary thing, which is life, and you should use it to fulfil everything you desire, that is how life should be lived. The saying, “To live well is to die well,” takes on great meaning. If our life is filled with being caught in the restraints of pain and suffering, then our life doesn’t have the same kind of meaning as if we live in freedom. Knowing that we have to die, I am determined to live my life properly, deeply. If we aren’t able to live with peace, joy, and freedom before we die, then we live as if we are dead already. Hearing the doctors’ words, “You have cancer; you may live for six months.” This completely overwhelms the listener. The fear, the idea that I’m going to die in six months takes away all peace and joy of living life. Before the doctor tells the person they had cancer, they had the capacity to enjoy themselves with their friends. However, once the doctor informs them of the tragic news, they have lost all the capacity to sit and enjoy a cup of tea, or enjoy a meal, or watch the stars, because they are so afraid of the moment when they will die. The inevitability of death, takes away all our freedom. Accepting that death is something that comes to everybody will reduce your suffering. Mohandas Gandhi, spoke openly about how to live life: “Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.” Many of us are caught up thinking in the past. The past is no longer there and we compare it with the present, we say that the past was more beautiful than the present. However when those past moments were lived we didn’t really value them at the time. We were always running after the future and now if we were taken back to the past, we would do the same. Our fear is our projections we have of the future tomorrow. Maybe this will happen, or that will happen, we project it like that. That is what makes us afraid. Fear does not occur naturally. Fear comes from our thinking. Our thinking that this will happen tomorrow, that will happen tomorrow. Notice the future is something that is not yet there. Because the future is never there, once it’s there it’s the present. We must be diligent today to not wait until tomorrow is too late. As the great Nelson Mandela said “There is only today, let us do the best we can do today. People have given us all the conditions for practicing mindfulness, and yet we don’t do it, we say we’ll do it tomorrow we needn’t do it today. But tomorrow’s too late, because of impermanence.” Death comes unexpectedly. One can’t bargain with death, we cannot make a deal with death. Our challenge as people is to improve ourselves to live happy, fulfilled lives. In doing so we are guaranteed that when our time comes we will die happy. Therefore death becomes something, which stimulates us, motivates us, to help us live in solidity and freedom.